ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on key studies and reviews of research on the origins of gender differences. It explores the relationship between education and gender. In gendered subjects the majority of students studying the subject are of the gender associated with that subject. Sistrunk and McDavid found that both men and women conformed more when performing tasks that were traditionally associated with the other gender. One area where there seems to be an advantage for women is in verbal and literacy tasks. As with mathematics there are also cultural expectations that women will perform better in language subjects such as English Studies. McGivern et al. found that women had a better memory than men for 'feminine' objects and vice versa for 'masculine' objects. This difference in memory could be a result of each gender being more interested and attentive to gender appropriate objects and topics, since that would be seen as the norm for their gender.
