Math as a gatekeeper: Ethnic and gender inequality in course taking of the sciences in Israel

Using multilevel analysis on a sample of Israeli academic-track twelfth graders in 1989, the article examines between-school variation in gender and ethnic inequality in course taking of two scientific subjects, physics and biology. The main findings are that (I) the sciences are taken less often by students of the underprivileged Jewish ethnic group, and this inequality is more acute in schools that use math as a filter, and (2) physics is taken more often by males, and biology by females. The gender typing of the sciences is particularly prominent in math-oriented schools. The social implications of the findings are discussed.