Reply #65: I was so annoyed when I heard about this report on the news. [View All]

It really gets to me. I take it personally. I am a woman, and I love math. I have a B.S. in Computer Engineering. I am not working in the field (and neither is my husband who has the same degree) mostly because I couldn't find any jobs (remember most of the programming jobs went to India). I also have a young child. I still intend to have a career involving math. I have been a high school math teacher. I would love to teach math at a college level some day (whenever I have the time and can afford to get a masters/PhD).

I know I am not inferior in math ability because I am a woman. I have always been one of the best math students in my classes (both high school and college). My husband even says that I'm better at math than he is.

I thought the boys and girls were about equal when I taught high school math. I think a lot of women end up doing different careers than men mostly because they are interested in different things, not because they are lacking in ability. I find that a lot of women like to do jobs that have a lot of social significance (working with people type jobs). Often they don't get the same kind of satisfaction working a math/engineering type job that they would get with a more people oriented career. Also, women are still primarily responsible for raising children in most families, which may interfere with the pursuit of a career (whether this career is related to math/science or some other subject).