Sage Sunak’s national drive to improve the UK’s maths skills needs extra support to boost the confidence of women and girls, a leading numeracy charity has said.
In a report released on Thursday, National Numeracy said low confidence in maths among women is hampering their career prospects as it sought a more appropriate approach to the government’s planned expansion of compulsory maths education.
The charity has also called for additional support for young people and the unemployed. The findings, released after the Prime Minister’s latest speech, in which she set out her ambitions to reform maths education, show that working women are just as likely as men to achieve secondary school level maths qualifications. But they expressed less confidence when surveyed.
On a sliding scale from 1 to 10, women rated their confidence on average 6.5 versus 8.2 for men. “We need to tackle the gender confidence gap because it can make a real difference,” says National Numeracy chief executive Sam Sims.
“If we’re going to require every young person to do some form of math by age 18, we need to take specific steps to address these challenges.”
Government plans announced earlier in the year include the introduction of a new school-equivalent qualification for adult students and the possibility of extending compulsory maths education to all 16- to 18-year-olds.
National Numeracy, known for running the National Numeracy Challenge, says that around half of the working-age population has numeracy skills equivalent to a primary school leaver.
When launching the report on Wednesday, former social mobility commissioner Sandra Wallace said the government must take the issue seriously. “[Lower levels of numeracy] become a barrier and hold people back in their careers and advancement.”
According to think-tank Pro Bono Economics, it is estimated that low maths attainment and numeracy confidence could cost the UK economy more than £25 billion a year. National Numeracy says the UK lags behind other OECD countries.
“Women are not getting the financial and career outcomes they deserve,” said Lucy-Marie Heggs, UK head of credit card provider Capital One, who will sit on a panel advising the government on maths reform.
Although girls outperform boys at GCSE and A-level, the Agency for Higher Education Statistics reports that only 37 per cent of students studying maths-related subjects at the degree level are female.
