ABSTRACT
The title of this chapter derives from the title of the 1992 publication (Lafortune and Kayler, 1992) of MOIFEM (Mouvement International pour les Femmes et l’Enseignement des Mathématiques), the French-Canadian section of IOWME. Since its inception in 1985, MOIFEM has dedicated its activities to promoting women in mathematics, developing feminist approaches to the learning and teaching of mathematics (in order to attract and retain more women in mathematics and related subjects), demystifying mathematics, and establishing a French-speaking ‘women and mathematics’ network. Two conferences (Lafortune, 1986, 1989) were the first projects the group undertook. The conferences, designed to promote an understanding of women, mathematics, and mathematics education, generated three themes which recur in all our discussions and knowledge development: women and mathematics, the role of affect in mathematics learning, and the demystification of mathematics. The understanding we developed through these conferences encouraged us to move from theory to practice in order to tackle the issue of teaching mathematics to women. This chapter describes the development of this more practical aspect of our work.
