When it comes to high school math and science, we’re losing talented young women in droves during a crucial phase in their lives. A 2017 study reveals the discouraging reason: At virtually every point on the ability spectrum, girls rate themselves lower than boys do.⁣ ⁣ Even the best-performing girls “do not take the most advanced mathematics courses and subsequently tend to pursue non-PEMC (physical science, engineering, mathematics, and computer science) major fields,” write the researchers.⁣ ⁣ What’s behind the lack of confidence? ⁣ ⁣ Part of it is our cultural iconography around the maths and sciences, a mostly outdated, toxic mix of stereotypes that relentlessly portrays scientists, mathematicians, and engineers as fumbling, sometimes loutish, but always brilliant males. There’s some evidence, too, that girls avoid STEM courses when the classes feature an endless series of isolated problems to solve, instead of positioning STEM more holistically, as a collection of powerful tools ...