On Wed, 22 Nov 2006, Tony Jacobs wrote:
Some researchers suggest that differences in treatment contribute to girls' lower self-esteem, lower self-confidence, and reduced risk taking.
I gotta say, I just spent 3 years teaching mathematics at a state university where the math department was over 50% female (students, not professors). More of my better students were female, in Calculus, Differential Equations, Group Theory, etc. These were some high self-esteem, confident, risk-taking chicks (to use the PC expression). I realize this school is an exception, but it appears that, at least in some communities, these trends are on the decline.
It's so bad for boys that Newsweek actually published a story about it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10965522/site/newsweek/
"Girl behavior becomes the gold standard," says "Raising Cain" coauthor Thompson. "Boys are treated like defective girls."
A quick Google gives me some links: http://www.washingtontimes.com/specialreport/20060122-120546-2696r.htm
They point out that boys: Receive the majority of D and F grades given to students in most schools, as high as 70 percent. Create 80 percent of classroom discipline problems. Account for 80 percent of high school dropouts. Represent 70 percent of children diagnosed with learning disabilities and 80 percent of those diagnosed with behavioral disorders.
http://www.uaf.edu/northern/schools/myth.html
A very famous article (if you've been following the issue) that also debunks the self-esteem canard.