Women in Mathematics

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there aren't many... speculate.

You can't include women in mathematics education or statistics. And you have to consider the enrollment of women in many undergraduate math classes to be earning degrees in other areas of study.

my brothers wife was in school to become an actuary....

so what kind of math are you talking about?

there is research, there is mathematical modeling, there is theoretical and mathematical computer science (such as cryptography), game theory, classical applied math, theoretical math, operations research,

there is so much to learn...

there were 2 or 3 women in my number theory class, I can only guess that they're math majors (though they may be CS, and frankly, I wasn't a math or CS major and I took it anyways, so who knows), but number theory is "pure math" enough.

Once I got to graduate level math though...it's pretty bleak.

The greater male variability could be a large part of it; given that in a field such as math the only people who matter are those at the very far end of the bell curve, the broader bell curve seen for males could result in disproportionate representation at the highest levels in the field even when males and females are roughly equal in ability on average.

A lot of women end up giving up their careers entirely or partially to be moms... yes this still happens. My sister had a dual major in math but she stays home with her kids and is a part time secretary. She's a brilliant lady though... but no official math career.

I love mathematics, and I have been personally biased against due to gender. When I was in 2nd grade, I learned all the multiplication and long division effortlessly. My parents were interested in putting me in an accelerated math program, but the school thought it wouldn't be best "developmentally" due to that boys dominated the program. Having poor social skills, and the high possibility of being bullied, my parents decided not to put me in the program!

I learned Algebra in 8th grade, but I was put into it twice more in 9th and 10th grade even though I always pulled off an A everytime. They thought I wasn't capable of "moving on" to higher maths. In 11th, I finally went into Geometry and got an A. I went to a new school for 12th grade, and they are much more supportive of my endeavors. They even gave me a calculus book to study on my own.

Boys are not "naturally" better at math than girls. I think a lot of it has to do with stereotypes. Likewise, girls aren't naturally better at the arts than boys. The sciences were male dominated but more girls are finding out they can excel in the same areas. This should be proof that society should stop making excuses for girls and empower them instead.

I've known girls who earned straight "As" in math, but who were discouraged or intimidated from taking maths higher than high-school algebra.

This may be a holdover from the pre-1960s era, when women were believed to attend college only to earn an "MRS" degree - husband-hunting, as it were, and that woman with a college graduate husband have no need to earn an actual degree in the first place. Barbaric times.

I've offered to tutor nieces in algebra for free, but the girls soon lose interest in favor of texting their bffs about who said what to whom and why ...

It's primarily a US cultural phenomenon. Women who come from other countries do just fine, and their numbers are increasing, even in those countries. It's a matter of expectation. We don't expect much from our students, male or female.