Séliane has chosen three scientific specialties for her first class: mathematics, physics-chemistry and engineering sciences. The young Gironde high school student nevertheless says that she “long hesitated” before making his decision, last year, in second: “I was really afraid of being excluded by finding myself with almost only boys.” And for good reason, this year, she is one of only four girls in her engineering science specialty education, against 12 boys.
Such disparity within a class is not an isolated case. In recent years, the number of girls in science education has decreased significantly “unpublished”, according to the statement of the Maths collective&Science. In a study published Monday, October 3 (PDF), the group of scientific associations highlights a drastic drop, since 2019, in the number of girls with a scientific profile in final year; it fell from around 94,522 before the high school reform to 67,890 in 2021, a drop of 28%. This is “a 20-year step back in the fight against gender inequalities”, says the study.
Contacted by franceinfo, the Ministry of National Education believes that “the choices determined by the gender of the pupils persist with the reform of the high school but that this one had not aggravated them”. Widely criticized from its implementation at the start of the 2019 school year, this reform initiated by the Minister of Education at the time, Jean-Michel Blanquer, notably led to the disappearance of the S, ES and L series in favor of a dozen thematic specialties, which the students are led to choose during their first year of high school. Why has it had such effects on the representation of girls in science education? What role do stereotypes play in the behavior and orientation of pupils Decryption.
By doing away with the series, the reform has imposed on students specific orientation choices earlier in their schooling. In the middle of the second year, the general high school students must now choose three specialties from a set of 12 courses, which notably include five scientific disciplines. These are mathematics, physics-chemistry, engineering sciences, SVT (life and earth sciences) and computer sciences (NSI). For the historian of mathematics Anne Boyé, this a priori orientation “à la carte” paradoxically led to “directed choices”.
“At this age, teenagers are extremely influenced by their family and the stereotypes conveyed by society.”
Anne Boyé, historian of mathematicsat franceinfo
Now a student of English and political science, Orane recognizes a form of indirect influence of society on the path of girls. “Since we were younger, we have been told that science is not for us. Unconsciously, we are built like that”, explains the former high school student. Moreover, in today’s society“professions remain very gendered”, says Marie Duru-Bellat, sociologist in education and gender sciences. For exemple, “The IT industry is very masculineshe illustrates. Result: the girls do not orient themselves in it at all because they do not want to find themselves in a sector where they are a minority”.
The lack of representation of female figures in the world of science also contributes to the fact that girls are unable to project themselves into scientific careers. “When you’re a girl and you study, you may never hear the name of a woman of science”deplores Anne Boyé, who insists on the need to give young girls role models; “figures” but also “examples of women in everyday science, engineers, computer scientists, physicists…”
It is often by internalizing well-known received ideas such as “math is for boys”or convinced that they would not have their place in scientific subjects, that girls turn to more literary subjects or those related to the humanities. “They show a form of self-censorship”sums up Claire Piolti-Lamorthe, president of the Association of Mathematics Teachers (APMEP).
“In secondary education, no scientific theorem in the curriculum bears the name of a woman.”
Claire Piolti-Lamorthe, president of the Association of Maths Teachersat franceinfo
Several teachers interviewed also describe this same self-censorship vis-à-vis mathematics, within the classroom itself. “Girls know how to do it, but they don’t speak up because they think boys perform better”relates Nicolas Seys, teacher of SES (economic and social sciences) in Seine-et-Marne, about the reading of statistical data in progress. “They will be less daring to embark on an exercise”adds Margaux*, a mathematics teacher in Pas-de-Calais.
Marie Duru-Bellat talks about “stereotype threat” : “It’s when a person will be afraid to confirm the prejudices that target them. Here, the fact of not being good at mathematics, for example.” In this sense, Séliane sometimes admits not to intervene in engineering science class because she “feels inferior to boys and compares (himself) a lot to them”.
Anyone who says they make an early choice regarding these specialties also says they give up mathematics early for many young girls. “In the organization of the previous high school, students had the choice between several streams which continued to offer mathematics (S and ES in particular)“, explains Claire Piolti-Lamorthe. In the current configuration, if the girls do not choose the mathematics specialty at the end of the second, or the option put in place since September, they definitively put an end to their course in maths and “they can’t go back”.
Thereby, “there are those who stop at the end of second class, convinced that they will not succeed”, continues Claire Piolti-Lamorthe. Then, many high school girls also put an end to their course in mathematics at the end of the first year, when the students must abandon one of their three specialty lessons.
Since the start of the reform, the number of girls among terminale science students taking at least six hours of maths per week (corresponding to the hourly volume of the mathematics specialty in terminale) has fallen: 94,522 in 2019, compared to 36,419 in 2021. Concretely, this represents a drop of 61%. An observation shared by several teachers interviewed: “This year, I have eight girls for 25 students in maths in my last yearillustrates Margaux*, high school teacher. Before the reform, I had 11 daughters for 20 students in terminal S.”
Many high school girls wishing to go to study biology or medicine – a common course for girls – thus give up mathematics at the end of first year to focus on SVT and physics and chemistry, recalls Margaux. Same scenario for girls who want to move towards a humanities or business course after the baccalaureate, and who decide to bet on history, SES or geopolitics in the final year.
“The problem is that once they arrive in higher education, they risk finding themselves with an insufficient level in mathematics in many sectors”, says Margaux. This is the case, for example, in economics, observes Nicolas Seys, teacher in the final class. “Girls are rare to ask for this course because they know that they will suffer from not having done mathematicshe explains. However, maths is preponderant in the choice of universities”.
“Girls who would like to continue in college of SVT or biology really need the triplet of scientific lessons (maths, physics, SVT) in high school.”
Margaux, mathematics teacher in Pas-de-Calaisat franceinfo
Several professors questioned also make the observation of a mathematics specialty whose program “dense” and “ambitious” is often unsuitable for many routes. “Students who would turn to economics and social sciences do not have such strong needs in mathematics”, explains Claire Piolti-Lamorthe. In fact, there is also, in the final year, the “complementary mathematics” option, a three-hour course for those who do not follow the specialty. But for Anne Boyé, it does not make it possible to acquire a “luggage” enough for students to learn “serenely” graduate studies.
Abandoning scientific lessons, the girls end up “close the door” many careers in the field of science, regrets Claire Piolti-Lamorthe. The professor also recalls that if today the figures on high school have just fallen, the consequences on higher education of gender stereotypes and the choices they influence “can’t delay”.
* The first name has been changed at the request of the person concerned.