“In 1968 Phillip Goldberg asked university women to judge the merits of several scientific articles that were attributed to a male author (“John McKay”) or to a female author (“Joan McKay”). Although these manuscripts were identical in every other respect, participants judged the articles written by the male to be of higher quality than those written by the female.

These young women were reflecting a belief, common to people in many societies, that girls and women lack the potential to excel in either math and science courses or in occupations that require this training (Eccles et al., 2000; Tennenbaum & Leaper, 2002). Kindergarten and grade 1 girls already believe that they are not as good as boys in arithmetic, and throughout the elementary school years, children increasingly come to regard reading, art, and music as girls’ domains and mathematics, athletics, and mechanical subjects as boys’ domains (Eccles, Jacobs, & Harold, 1990; Eccles et al., 1993; Eccles, Freeman-Doan, Jacobs, & Yoon, 2000; Entwisle & Baker, 1983).”

Source: Developmental Psychology Childhood and Adolescence 3rd ed. Author: SHAFFER