5 organizations working to solve the gender gap in education — and how to help them

In our Back to School series, we tackle the big issues students face, from police in schools to representation. Because returning to the classroom is about more than buying school supplies.

You might not spend much time thinking about the gender gap in education — that is, the difference in educational outcomes between boys and girls — but you should. These disparities affect people from childhood all the way through adult life, via the careers they choose and beyond. 

Girls and boys receive different messages (both implicit and explicit) about who's smart and who's not. By age six, girls are more likely to call boys "really, really smart," and shy away from games or activities that they view as for kids who are "really, really smart." Race and class also have an impact. And this continues: Boys who go to school districts that are mostly white, high-income, and suburban usually test better than girls in the same districts.  Read more...