Smart Girls is a smart book. The author begins by looking back on the careers and lives of the gifted girls she had classes with, starting in elementary school. Her follow-ups over 10 and 20 year periods produced surprising and disappointing results. Few of the smart girls that had been identified in elementary school as gifted had achieved the expected the high paying, high profile careers that had been predicted for the “Leaders of Tomorrow,” or even had finished college. Most of them were homemakers or had lower level jobs. The author wanted to know why.

Part of the reason is that, until recently, there have been almost insurmountable barriers to women’s achievements, not the least of which is the commonly held belief that women don’t need their own careers, since they can attach themselves to a successful man. Other barriers include the constant and continuing promotion of “pink” colored femininity: dolls, makeup, romance, sexism, and discrimination. There has also been a lack of research, accompanied with the expectation that women will defer to men to achieve harmony, children, and a happy home life.

It is important to note that past failures of women to achieve prominence, especially in technical careers, is not based on intelligence or ability -- but cultural, environment, and social pressure to “fit-in” to the “Culture of Romance” that dominates literature, fashion, media and work. Beginning in junior high, many girls start to be influenced by this and lose interest in math, science, and other technical areas.

As long as girls are pressured to find romantic relationships over all else, they will continue to have a difficult time rising to the top in great numbers. It is a rare woman who can fight against all odds to become all she can be, including wife and mother if she chooses to integrate those into her life. The author profiles some famous women that have achieved greatness: Marie Curie, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Mead, Gertrude Stein, Maya Angelou, Georgia O’Keeffe, and others who refused to accept mediocrity. It was found that girls who had mentors in college or attended “all girls” colleges were more likely to demonstrate higher levels of achievement in math and hard sciences.

Today, there are changes taking place in the workplace and at the secondary school level to encourage girls to not “drop out of the running.” – that perseverance will stand by them longer than looking back and saying, “I should have done the math,” “stayed in medical school,” and so forth. #What is needed is for educators and parents to refocus and treat girls’ academic and career goals as equal to boys’. Since they are on equal footing intellectually, society must change to promote them.

Your daughters need your love and support for their abilities, the same as your sons, so that they are not handicapped by negativity or indifference.

This book will help guide you towards helping your daughter become fulfilled and reach her full potential.

David L. Jones GATE parent

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