Failing at Fairness: How America's Schools Cheat Girls

by Myra Pollack Sadker, David Sadker

Failing at Fairness, the result of two decades of research, shows how gender bias makes it impossible for girls to receive an education equal to that given to boys.



Girls' learning problems are not identified as often as boys' are


Boys receive more of their teachers' attention


Girls start school testing higher in every academic subject, yet graduate from high school scoring 50 points lower than boys on the SAT
Hard-hitting and eye-opening, Failing at Fairness should be read by every parent, especially those with daughters.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Gender, Parenting, Womens, Feminism, Teaching

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially started reading this book for a paper about sexism, but became fascinated by all of the subtle ways sexism creeps into our classrooms. It covers all topics from how teachers interact more with boys and give them better feedback to how standardized tests hurt girls' college and career prospects. It made me wonder if there was sexism in my own educational experiences and compelled me to fight against it when I become an educator. A good book that I highly recommend to anyone interested in either sexism or education.

[Synthia Salomon, Ed.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Male freedom
Female threat

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an interesting book, but it's about 20 years old and I kept wanting updated information, particularly since I did my secondary and university schooling after the book was written and it doesn't quite match my experience, so I wanted to see if that's just a function of where I'm from and where I went to school combined with my particular personality, or if there had been advances in educational experience since the book was written. I have so much else on my list to read that I decided to just let this one drop.

[Danni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about how schools fail EVERYONE. It talks about sexism to both boys and girls. Are all girl's schools and all boys schools better or worse? Are men favored in sports while women are favored in homemaking classes? Are doctors supposed to be male or female? Are we making college campuses safe for everyone? I really learned a lot and liked it. It made me think really hard.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this years ago, when you think 'how could good teachers be unfair to (girls, minority students, etc.)' - this is how it works. Good people can accidentally do bad things that have serious consequences. We need to be aware and informed.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for anyone who went to public school in the United States.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably worth reading this (or trying to find an update) now that I have two little girls in my life. Didn't have much impact, though it was eye opening, at the time that I read it.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The statistics are frustrating. The anecdotes are heartbreaking. I'm disturbed by the state of education in this country.

[Kirkja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every parent should read this! It changed my life, both as a parent and as a teacher. It also helped put many of my experiences as a student in perspective.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very outdated.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read this book in middle school, it changed my life. I just found out there's an updated edition, and I'm so excited to read it!!