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An international investigation into "gender inequality" in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Pooran Wynarczyk
Abbe Herzig is an Assistant Professor, Mathematics Education, Department of Educational Theory and Practice and Affiliate Faculty Member, Department of Women's Studies, University at Albany, State University of New York. Her research concerns equity and social justice in mathematics and science education at all levels. She is at the beginning of a 6-year research program concerning women and students of colour in the post-graduate mathematical sciences, and is also investigating the low numbers of students of colour in undergraduate engineering. She has developed courses and programs to help diverse populations of young people discover the relevance of mathematics and science to their interests and realities. She worked for 12 years as a statistician, much of that time for Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. She has consulted for the United Nations, the Yale School of Medicine, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP.
Ever since childhood, Abbe Herzig has thought of herself as a mathematician. She was passionate about mathematics and played with mathematical concepts and patterns at every opportunity. She was thrilled to eventually discover that it was possible to major in mathematics in college, but surprised - mathematics seemed so fundamental that she had not realized it was a significant field of study in "its own right". From that point on, she began her journey in mathematics, aiming to become a professional mathematician. In her first semester of college, she took abstract algebra, a junior-level course that was reputed (at her undergraduate school) to "separate the men from the boys". She found the class extremely exciting. Her commitment and devotion were critical, enabling her to achieve the highest grades, often setting the curve for the junior math majors in the class. However, in her other classes she took in subsequent semesters, she found that she was losing her love of mathematics. One of the main reasons was the she found it hard to connect with other students, so most of her learning was done in isolation. The materials she had formerly approached with passion and depth had disappeared, replaced by an endless stream of context-less details in which there was little room...