Phasing out the line, ?math is not for a girl?

Phasing out the line, ‘math is not for a girl’
 

Background:
 The representation of females in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) or other math-intensive fields and careers remains far from ‘fair’ or desirable.
 STEM was introduced in 2001 by scientific administrators in the National Science Foundation (NSF). It is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in 4 specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
 India is one of the countries that produce the highest number of scientists and engineers, the growth of STEM has picked up significantly over the last few years.
 

Do girls really perform poorly in Basic math when compared to boys?
 According to Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER)report - Boys outperform girls in mathematics significantly, which has been persistent over time.
 There is a considerable variation. For example, in the north Indian States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh, boys outperform girls substantially while in south India, girls outperform boys in mathematics.
 On average, the performance of girls remains worse than that of boys.
 There is a widespread prevalence of the systematic devaluation of girls related to their mathematical aptitude in the classroom, at home, and in society more broadly.
 The oft-repeated line that “science and math are meant for boys and arts and humanities for girls” is reflective of the kind of stereotyping that parents, relatives/neighbors, and even schoolteachers push.
 

What are steps taken by Government to address this issue?
 The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) acknowledges the need to address several gender-related gaps in schooling. For example, it recognizes the existence of continued disparities across all social groups., the need for developing interventions that enhance attendance and academic performance for girls.
 It stresses the need to implement gender-sensitive training for teachers
 Establishing a ‘Gender-Inclusive Fund’ for States to utilize in implementing community-based interventions.
 

What more can be done in this context to address the Gender bias?
 Position paper on the “Teaching of Mathematics” published by the NCERT in 2005:
 The paper talks about poorer outcomes for girls in mathematics through the devaluation of girls in society. It discusses classroom research, indicating how gendered perceptions and the behavior of teachers might negatively impact how girls view and perform in mathematics in the classroom.
 References to female mathematicians in textbooks, female names, and characters in word problems, and providing exposure to female role models in STEM fields in the course curriculum are among other simple tweaks that are worth trying and likely to be beneficial.