When gender matters: A study of gender differences in mathematics

This paper addresses gender differences in mathematics at the early grades of primary school, based on a research study conducted in Italy, in the region with the largest gender gap in mathematics in the National panorama. Borrowing from the literature around gender and its different conceptualizations, we focus attention on the possible relationship between the gap and the cognitive demand, task and formulation of mathematical test questions. Restricting the analysis to the content area of numbers, the one with the largest gap, we will highlight some of the variables that seem to affect the gender gap, arguing for a more equitable mathematical practice.