Kuala Lampur, May 14 -- MAY 14 - Something I have noticed over the years of teaching mathematics at the foundation level is that some of my most careful, most persistent students are women. Not because I went looking for a pattern (I did not) but because it became hard to ignore. They check their working twice. They come to consultation hours with specific questions, not vague ones. When they get something wrong, they want to understand exactly where the reasoning broke down, not just copy the correct answer.

This is not a generalization about all students, or all women. It is simply what I have observed, in my own classroom, over time. And it made me think about what mathematics actually rewards, and whether we are communicating that cl...