Girls’ performance in mathematics now equal to boys, UNESCO finds

Girls’ performance in mathematics in secondary school is now equal to that of boys, according to a recent gender report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

“Girls outperform boys in math by significant margins, as well as in reading, in middle- and high-income countries,” said the report.

UNESCO’s report, released on April 27, analyzed data from 120 countries in primary and secondary education to offer a global picture of the situation.

The report argued that girls are still less likely to opt for scientific careers, because of continuing biases and stereotypes. “We need gender equality in learning and ensure that every learner fulfills their potential,” it said.

“Even though girls catch up in mathematics in upper primary and secondary education, boys are far more likely to be overrepresented among the highest performers in mathematics in all countries,” noted the report.

The research also found that girls “perform even better in reading.” “More girls achieve minimum proficiency in reading than boys,” it said.

UNESCO’s findings showed that the largest gap in primary education is in Saudi Arabia, where 77% of girls but only 51% of boys in grade 4 achieve minimum proficiency in reading.

“Girls are demonstrating how well they can do in school when they have access to education. But many, and particularly the most disadvantaged, are not getting the chance to learn at all. We shouldn’t be afraid of this potential,” Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist, was quoted as saying in a UNESCO statement.

UNESCO noted that most of the data analyzed for the report “have been released in the last 18 months but refer to the situation just before the global pandemic.”

“Although more data is needed, recent releases have helped paint an almost global picture of gender gaps in learning outcomes right before the pandemic. Girls are doing better than boys in reading and in science and are catching up in mathematics,” concluded the report.