Promotion and Retention of Women in Mathematics :: Mathematical Careers Education Essays

publicity and Retention of Women in Mathematics How do we interest and retain much women in the field of mathematicsematicsematics? Women now make up roughly half the under alum math majors in the U.S. (1993 Annual raft of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical association of America) yet in graduate math programs, only about one-quarter of the American students are women (Adhikari & Nolan, 1997, p. 17). For women who shoot SME (Science, Mathematics, Engineering) majors, persistence rates in the major are significantly demoralise than that of male peers. (Seymour, 1995, p. 438) I am interested in the topic because I am a female who experienced pursuing undergraduate and graduate mathematics degrees. I want to know what I can do to help motivate other women in mathematics. While reading the literature, I became aware of subtle personal experiences that paralleled common experiences of women pursuing mathematics majors. Whereas I had informally considered my attempts at fair, consistent treatment for all students to be positively related to motivating women (and other minorities) in mathematics, upon reading the literature a strong case is made for additional support to different groups.Although I will focus the majority of the paper on college experiences that influence women in SME majors, literature also points to the influence of pre-college coursework. Maple and Stage (1991) found that students who took more acquisition and math courses in high school were significantly more probably to choose learning and math majors in college (Trusty, 2002). Farmer, Wardrop, Anderson, and Risinger (1995) found winning elective science courses in high school had a curb direct effect onpersistence for women in science-related careers, but winning elective math courses did not. (p. 163) Although in this research taking elective math courses was not found to effect persistence of women in science-related careers, I clamber that math courses a re still critical as they are prerequisites for science electives of chemistry and physics. The National Science Foundation has reported, young women have spurn interest in math courses and take fewer advanced math courses (Farmer, Wardrop, Anderson and Risinger, 1995, p. 157). In addition, Seymour and Hewitt (1997) found the effects of inadequate high school dressing to be the most common contributor to early decisions to switch from SME (science, mathematics, engineering) majors to non-SME majors (p. 79). Seymour (1995) also points out that studies have noted the subtle deterrents to ready participation in mathematics and science which bear upon precollege girls (p.