Independent charity National Numeracy and a pioneering group of organisations are coming together to address the UK’s gender number confidence gap, with the launch of the Gender Taskforce.
As a nation, the UK’s numeracy levels are significantly below the average for developed countries. And nearly half the working-age population has the expected numeracy level of a primary school child.
Low numeracy – whether low number skills or confidence – can have wide-ranging damage on our work and personal lives. And recent research has revealed an alarming gap in number confidence between girls and boys, with 54% of British girls not feeling confident learning maths, compared to 41% of boys.
Numerous academic studies show there is no gender component to maths ability, and despite lacking the confidence of boys in STEM subjects, girls often outperform their male counterparts in maths and science subjects at GCSE level. Yet fewer girls pursue STEM subjects at A-Level, and women consistently report that they are less number confident than men.
