Pretty Girls Don’t Do Math

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A few days ago, I got in touch with the parent of a friend of mine from high school who is a college counselor with Kelleher Cohen Associates in the Boston area. Her job is to help high school students find colleges that fit their personality and academic needs, apply for financial aid, and the complete the application process for the schools.

During the course of conversation, she asked about what I was doing for work. When I started describing marketing analytics to her, she got even more inquisitive. Turns out she has a female student with whom she is working that is very interested in Math. It’s not the student’s best subject, but the one that she looks forward to every day. As this student nears college age, she has expressed that she will likely not pursue math further. When I asked why she would abandon a subject that she enjoys, she said that, according to the student, “Pretty girls don’t do math.” Continue reading