Back to Math 55 for a moment. Baron-Cohen, along with many other scholars who write about cognitive sex differences, would not be surprised to learn that students who show up in 55 are overwhelmingly male. The Harvard registrar’s office reports that a total of 17 women have completed the course since 1990. Still, the equity activists could be right that the few women who defy the stereotype and take such a course have to overcome a “chilly environment.” I located two female survivors—Sherry Gong, currently enrolled, and Kelley Harris, who completed Math 55 with an A last year. “Did you encounter a hostile environment in that class?” asked Miss Harris. She laughed. “I loved my classmates!” When she once thought of dropping out, it was her male friends in the course who persuaded her to stay. Sherry Gong was taken aback when inquired whether she felt that women in math were unwelcome or marginalized. It was as if had asked whether women had the vote. “It is 2007!” she reminded me. Sergei Bernstein, a young man now enrolled, told me, “We would like to have more girls.”
Almost any guy will tell you the same thing...
Duck and run!
My daughter is a physics major. She loves her classes and labs. The young men are so attentive. She is the only girl there and they swarm to her and help her with her homework.