Conference Program

Promoted by INVALSI and Banca d'Italia

Despite progress in recent decades, significant gender gaps persist in students’ disciplinary and transversal competencies. The literature shows that such inequalities are strongly shaped by cultural stereotypes, social expectations, and interactions among students, teachers, and families.

Gender gaps emerge early: evidence on adolescents indicates that socioeconomic status and family attitudes towards gender roles significantly influence performance differences between girls and boys, with effects that are amplified in contexts characterised by greater cultural and material inequalities. Teachers also play a crucial role: numerous studies document that implicit teacher stereotypes can widen the gender gap, particularly in mathematics and quantitative reasoning.

Similar gaps are observed in financial literacy, where girls and women show lower levels of competence — including in non-numerical tasks. Gender stereotypes can heighten financial anxiety, reduce self-confidence, and impair performance in situations perceived as ‘masculine’. Recent research further shows that, even among finance students with comparable knowledge, girls are less inclined to seize advantageous economic opportunities, revealing a persistent behavioural gap affecting economic choices and future career trajectories.

In line with the conference theme Learning for Democracy / Democracy for Learning, the symposium explores how gender stereotypes influence the formation of competencies fundamental to democratic participation. Strong cognitive competencies, socio-emotional capacities such as agency and self-efficacy, and informed decision-making skills are essential preconditions for active and responsible citizenship. School environments informed by democratic practices — participation, collaboration, mutual recognition — can mitigate the impact of stereotypes and foster more equitable and inclusive competency development.

The symposium adopts an interdisciplinary approach, integrating perspectives from economics of education, developmental psychology, sociology, and teacher education research.

Programme (2 hours – in Italian)

KEYNOTES (60 MINUTES)

To be confirmed

POLICY PANEL (40 MINUTES)

• INVALSI
• INDIRE
• Banca d’Italia
• MIM – Ministero dell’Istruzione e del Merito
  
  

OPEN DISCUSSION

20 minutes