Washington, D.C. (April 22, 2022) – The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is proud to continue to close the gender gap in mathematics by awarding certificates to 632 young women for their participation in this year’s MAA American Mathematics Competitions (AMC). The 43 highest-scoring young women will also be honored with scholarships.
As of March 2022, women make up only 34% of the STEM workforce, despite equal achievement in mathematics and science between female and male students in K-12 education. In 2019, MAA launched its MAA AMC Awards and Certificate program to address this disparity. The program’s goal is to inspire young women to pursue their love of mathematics by celebrating their achievements and strengthening their confidence in their mathematical abilities. For the second year in a row, MAA was able to offer a total of $25,000 in funding to support these young women in breaking down barriers in mathematics.
Both award and certificate recipients can be found online at MAA AMC, as well as on M-Powered, the hub of the MAA AMC community. Award winners will receive $5,000 in scholarships for each competition in which they placed in the top five scores (AMC 8, AMC 10A, AMC 10B, AMC 12A, and AMC 12B). The top five scorers in each of the 29 MAA sections will also receive certificates commemorating their accomplishments.
“As this program continues to grow, I hope that young women around the country feel recognized for this accomplishment and validated as an integral part of the math community,” said Jennifer Barton, Director of Competitions. “Women belong in math and we will continue to find ways to recognize them as well as other underrepresented groups. I am so proud to acknowledge their accomplishments. Congratulations to all of the winners!”
MAA’s ability to encourage and motivate young women in mathematics would not be possible without the support of our generous donors: Akamai Technologies, AwesomeMathGirls.org, Jane Street, The D. E. Shaw Group, and Two Sigma.