Math Prize for Girls Roundup

by rrusczyk, Nov 15, 2009, 12:25 AM

I have some empathy for the guys who feel excluded from the Math Prize for Girls, but my discussions with Ravi B dispelled a lot of any misgivings I might have had by an event that is by definition is exclusionary. Seeing the event in person removed any other misgivings I might have had. I was most amazed by the number of young women who came from all over the country, and the families who sacrificed time and money to come to the event. It was inspiring to see people investing in themselves and their children for a special event like this.

I'm hoping they'll continue the event, and that in the future there are more opportunities for the students to meet each other. I met a number of students who traveled a great distance without knowing anyone at the contest, which I found especially bold. So, my recommendation would be to reward them by creating opportunities for the young women to meet each other.

As for the test itself, well, Ravi B wrote it. So, it was packed with good, hard problems. Perhaps some of the contestants can share their thoughts?

As for my role, I completed my assigned mission of keeping the parents out of the test administrators' (and students') hair during the contest

It was very neat to finally meet so many students and parents I've corresponded with over the last few years. And, I got to stand on a stage in a huge room for an hour and a half and spout off about the importance of problem solving, which was great fun.

I guess one other change I hope to see over time for this event is that the "Oooh! Girls who do math" feeling is replaced by an "Oooh! Math people, who happen to be girls" feeling. That will be a sign of long-term success of the program.

math contest

Math Prize for Girls

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More girls doing math competitions would certainly induce more participation from quite a few members of my school

by Mewto55555, Nov 15, 2009, 12:32 AM

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A friend of mine got AoPS 2 signed by you.

by worthawholebean, Nov 15, 2009, 3:35 AM

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Did you see this article?

http://metroplexmathcircle.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/mitnews-the-math-gap/

by djcordeiro, Nov 15, 2009, 2:27 PM

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Yes; it would seem that this supports the notion that the Math Prize for Girls is an important contribution to combating social influences that pull young women away from math and science.

by rrusczyk, Nov 15, 2009, 2:33 PM

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I also linked that study in a Round Table thread.

This is a affirmative action contest- and where we are right now, we need some of those. On the social pressures- watch out for the part we generate ourselves. Mewto's comment here looks like a promise of extra attention just for being a girl, which would feel pretty hostile.

by jmerry, Nov 15, 2009, 8:37 PM

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Just wanted to throw an idea out there: what do you think about the fact that the top prize is equivalent (or so I've last heard) to the USAMO top prize? Is this suggestive in any negative way?

My thinking is, although by no means was this intended by the people organizing the competition, awarding an equal amount of money for a competition whose competitors are, for the most part, a SUBSET (disregarding how large or small this subset is) of those competing, indirectly or directly, in the USAMO, is a little weird. In that in a really awkward way of looking at it, it suggests that the female AMC/AIME/USAMO competitors are not capable of achieving this top prize in the USAMO, and thus must compete at a lower level (in terms of problem difficulty, and size of the competition) to win a similar amount of money.

Don't get me wrong. I think the program is wonderful, and I'm all for more girls doing math. And by no means do I believe that girls actually are unable to compete at the same level as guys. Nor do I believe that money is the most important part of math competitions - it's more the symbolism of the prize that bothers me a little. Perhaps my beliefs, though, spring a little bit from jealousy - though this may be true I still think my points are legitimate. (Incidentally the person who won the top prize is has been a good friend of mine for the last four? years).

by CatalystOfNostalgia, Nov 16, 2009, 3:25 AM

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Here's what the prize means: this contest has lots of funding, and can afford to spend some of it on monetary prizes rather than simply getting people there and running the competition. Also, this is a national, on-site contest. The 11th place contestant won $600- which is comparable to the cost of her round-trip flight from San Jose.

by jmerry, Nov 16, 2009, 3:45 AM

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There's a reason our top prize matches that of USAMO, but nothing negative was intended. My boss asked me what the biggest prize for a math competition was. After doing a little investigation, I said that, as far as I know, it's Akamai's 20K scholarship for winning USAMO. He said let's match that. I asked him if he was sure, and he said yes. (The only difference is that our prize is cash.)

My boss is both very generous (the money is coming out of the pockets of him and his wife) and competitive (he doesn't like to be outbid).

by Ravi B, Nov 16, 2009, 4:38 AM

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I think the big top prize is basically essential to getting the best young women from all over the country to show up. Had the prizes been just $\$[/dollar]1000$ , I suspect you'd be less likely to get the top students from, say, California to show. (This might not be true in year 1, but probably would be a few years down the line.)

I don't find Mewto's comment an example of something bad about noting that they're girls. Why is it bad to note "more girls participating means more boys will be interested in participating?" I think this is a collateral benefit to getting more young women involved in these events -- you draw more top boys into them, too.

by rrusczyk, Nov 16, 2009, 5:50 PM