Common Threads: Women, Mathematics and Work

by Mary Harris

Mathematics is still the quintessential male subject. Throughout the world it is women who underachieve in it. And needlework still defines it is mostly women who do needlework. Yet it is often a highly mathematical activity - activity that goes unaccredited because women do it.

Common Threads traces how, when national education systems were initially set up, school mathematics and needlework came to mark systematic differences between boys' and girls' education, and reveals the lasting influence in differentiated expectations for boys and girls all over the world.

The book explores the mathematical content of a variety of textile activities worldwide and shows how these can be used in the teaching mathematics where expectations are low or where curricula are gendered or culturally irrelevant. It suggests how women, in particular, could gain greater economic independence if the mathematics skills they acquire while learning textile crafts were formally accredited.

This book has implications for all involved in mathematics education, the education of girls and women, ethno-mathematics and development education. Its content impacts upon research and education policy and on adult education worldwide.

186 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997