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Does studying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) appeal to you?

Surely its not everyone’s idea of fun. Still, there has been concern of late about a growing gap between the sexes regarding their studying of the serious STEM Stuff.

A new study from the University of Wisconsin suggests that in terms of test scores, no such gap exists.

In a review of test scores of nearly half a million fourth and eighth graders from 86 countries, researchers found no significant difference in test scores between male and female students. (Although the study did find that countries that ranked high in terms of gender equality boosted everyone’s math scores, across the board.)

2009 census data suggests that while an aptitude gap may not exist, women are definitely underrepresented in STEM fields- holding about 25% of jobs.

So where does this under representation stem from? (Pun intended).

Alicia Chang, a researcher at the University of Delaware, published a study in 2011 examining how American mothers presented mathematics to male and female children. Chang found that, “Even [when their children are] as young as 22 months, American parents draw boys’ attention to numerical concepts far more often than girls’.

Indeed, parents speak to boys about number concepts twice as often as they do girls. For cardinal-numbers speech, in which a number is attached to an obvious noun reference – “Here are five raisins” or “Look at those two beds” – the difference was even larger. Mothers were three times more likely to use such formulations while talking to boys.” While the results of Chang’s study are unclear, it seems getting more women into STEM fields remains one big numbers problem.