Gender in Math, Science, and Engineering: Stanford Researchers Discuss New and Important Evidence

This forum responds to debates sparked by Harvard President Larry Summers' remarks that women lack “innate ability” in math and science. Stanford experts focus on inequities in institutions of higher learning, teaching environments that encourage women in engineering and math, how gender analysis can bring new insights to science, and psychological differences in brain processing between men and women.

Participants:

Jo Boaler, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education and Institute for Research on Women and Gender Faculty Advisory Board member, is an international expert on mathematics and gender

Ruth O'Hara, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, focuses on the integration of psychological, biological, and genetic approaches to understanding cognitive function

Londa Schiebinger, Barbara D. Finberg Director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender and Professor of History of Science, is an international expert on gender in science

Sheri Sheppard, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Institute for Research on Women and Gender Faculty Advisory Board member, studies how individuals acquire the abilities to successfully engage in engineering work