Gender Pattern in Participation and Performance at Mathematics Olympiads

Gender, biology, and mathematics performance.

In their analyses of gender and cultural disparity in mathematical performance, Hyde and Mertz (1) focus on tests for differences between females and males, first in overall variance in scores for primary and secondary students, and second in participation and outcome for students with exceptionally high ability. A third crucial line of evidence is sex differences in mathematical disability, de...

Gender, culture, and mathematics performance.

Using contemporary data from the U.S. and other nations, we address 3 questions: Do gender differences in mathematics performance exist in the general population? Do gender differences exist among the mathematically talented? Do females exist who possess profound mathematical talent? In regard to the first question, contemporary data indicate that girls in the U.S. have reached parity with boys...

Informatics olympiads: Approaching mathematics through code

Many readers are familiar with the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), a pinnacle in the yearly calendar of mathematics competitions. Here we introduce its cousin in computer science, the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). The International Olympiad in Informatics is one of the newer Science Olympiads, beginning in 1989 in Bulgaria under the leadership of Petar Kenderov. In its...

Debunking Myths about Gender and Mathematics Performance

G ender differences in mathematics participation rate, mean and high-end performance, and variance in distribution of performance have been reported on numerous occasions. The reasons for these findings have been the subject of much debate. For example, the greater male variability hypothesis, originally proposed by Ellis in 1894 [42] and reiterated in 2005 by Lawrence Summers when he was presi...

Gender and participation in mathematics and further mathematics A-levels: a literature review for the Further Mathematics Support Programme