Dear Men, Stop Checking My Math Skills And Check Your Own Bias

In Hum Aapke Hain Koun...! when Salman Khan mocks Madhuri Dixit and asks the accountant to recheck the tally because "aurte calculation mein kamzor hoti hai", it is not even surprising. Women and Math! From a very young age women are told that math is not 'their' cup of tea and later on in life. Were you ever questioned by a man on 'calculation' skills?

The thing is that Salman's questioning Madhuri's calculation skills in the film is not fictional. Most women face this in their everyday life. How often do we hear a man questioning another man on math? Why is it important to take a gendered glance at the knowledge of calculation skills? Why cannot all gender be equally bad or good in the subject?

The idea that women are not good at math is deep-rooted. We grow up hearing this statement and the gender stereotypes do not get better as we grow up. It becomes evident when we are asked to choose our subjects for secondary education. It is generalised that girls are good in humanities subjects like history and boys are good in science and math.

Ghazal AK shares on Twitter her experience of the stereotype. "What to say, I still remember when I scored 1000/1000 in Maths, my college mate who secured the second position told me that he is ashamed that a girl has secured more in Math but would not mind if it was any other subject."

This was to a post reshared by Natasha on Twitter which read, "The issue is complex. Girls are told from a very young age that they are not good in Math and it often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We need to stop this constant gender stereotyping. I, for one, haven't met a man better than me in Math- as good, yes."

This stereotyping does not stop even if one is to name a list of women mathematicians who did brilliantly in the subject. Some of the greatest women mathematicians were Shakuntala Devi who was popularly called human-computer, Raman Parimal,  Mangala Narlikar, Sujatha Ramdorai, Vanaja Iyengar and the list goes on.

But even after hearing a list of these women, men will not mind saying proudly that they were "exceptions".

According to research, there are no differences in the brain development of men and women, which includes their capabilities to solve a mathematical problem or a quick calculation. Although according to Jessica Cantlon, who is the lead researcher of the study from Carnegie Mellon University, it is the society and culture that steers women away from STEM fields which include science, technology, engineering and math.

This statement that women are bad in math while men are always good has no scientific basis. There is no special gene required to understand numbers. Also, do not forget, most women run households that also require math and they manage brilliantly. But will the men ever see that? Making women feel they lack numeracy skills is a way to condition them that they are incapable of taking independent financial decisions. So, lets break this myth now.

Suggested Reading:

Why Single Women Are Strong Economic Forces

Why do you need to work?- 23 Sexist Statements That Women Hear Everyday

Chalak, Badmash: Why Are Outspoken Women ‘Villainised’?

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