A few years ago, Ben Barres wrote this compelling piece for Nature which confronts the stereotype that women do not succeed in science because of a lack of innate ability. As a female-to-male transgendered person, Barres has a very unique perspective on the situation. Barres wrote the article in direct response to former Harvard president Larry Summers’ infamous “women just aren’t as good at math and science” speech. According to Barres, Summers’ hypothesis just isn’t supported by the available evidence.
Despite powerful social factors that discourage women from studying maths and science from a very young age, there is little evidence that gender differences in maths abilities exist, are innate or are even relevant to the lack of advancement of women in science.
Barres draws on strong evidence from from rigorous studies as well as compelling anecdotal evidence from his own life experiences. Overall, the paper presents a well-reasoned argument that all proponents of the advancement of women in science should read.