COURSE

It appears that culture rather than genetics keeps girls out of math, science, and technology. Ministry of Education statistics support the report of Sharon Haggerty (3) that Francophone high schools in Canada have higher percentages of females enrolled in math, science, and technology courses than comparable Anglophone high schools. For example, in Ontario in 1988,43% of Francophone grade 13 physics students were female as compared with 33% of Anglophones (Figure 4).

This is a striking example of the tremendous impact of culture on girls' participation in math, science and technology. Two important factors may be: first, the legacy, among Francophones, of Madame Curie (hence physics does not appear as the all-male bastion it is for anglophones) and, second, the lower overall participation of male Francophone students in math and science.

Figure 4

Percentage Enrolment of anglophone vs
Francphone Females, Ontario 1988

PERCENTAGE

SUBJECT

Ministry of Education 1988

1. The statistics cited in this article are from an unpublished report entitled "Time for a Different Game? The Participation of Ontario's Girls and Women in Medicine, Math, Science, Engineering and the Technological Trades" prepared by Rachelle S. Beauchamp and Georgina Feldberg for the Ontario Advisory Council on the Status of Women. All opinions cited are those of the authors alone.

2. Calculus is a prerequisite for many University business and economics programs, as well as for science, math and engineering. The increase in calculus enrolments probably reflects the increasing number of students in the 1980s who have opted to study business.

3. Haggerty, Sharon, M. "Secondary Science Education in Canada: Participation of Girls in Elective Science Courses," GASAT 5 Proceedings, I. Ravina and Y. Rom, eds., Haifa, Israel: Technion, 1989, pp.154-161.