Economics, Women in

Because economics is concerned with analyzing and describing the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth, certain demands are made on individuals who choose to study this social science. Mathematical skills, which have long been considered the province of males, are needed even at the basic level. Since the 1960s, intensive efforts have been made in the United States and in other nations to close the gender gap in science and math that allowed males to outperform females in both fields. Recent studies, such as a 2008 study by Janet Hyde and a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin and the University of California, indicate that there are currently no statistical differences between the performances of girls and boys on standardized tests in these ...