FULLERTON : AAUW to Screen Gender Bias Video

“Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America: A Call to Action,” a videotape by the American Assn. of University Women criticizing the public education system, will be shown today at the Fullerton Public Library.

The videotape will be screened at the 7:30 p.m. meeting of the AAUW’s Fullerton chapter at the library, 353 W. Commonwealth Ave.

In a recent landmark report gathering all known research on gender bias in American classrooms, the AAUW concluded that:

* Teachers give girls significantly less attention than boys.

* Contributions of females are often ignored in the curriculum. Those that are included tend to reinforce stereotypes about women.

* Most standardized tests are biased against females.

* While the number of girls pursuing math courses is increasing, girls are still not pursuing math-related careers in the same proportion as boys. There remains a large, perhaps growing, gender gap in science.

* Sexual harassment of girls by boys is increasing.

* African-American girls as a group get even less teacher reinforcement than white girls.

The meeting and the videotape screening is open to the public. For more information, contact AAUW chapter president-elect Patricia Carter at (714) 871-2145 or member Eunice Tuthill at (714) 529-8467.