Samir Ranjan Nath University of Oxford M. Mohsin Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee A. Mushtaque R. Chowdhury Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee Gender difference in the arithmetical knowledge of children in Bangladesh Like other social, cultural, economic and educational activities gender differentiation in mathematics is well established. As mathematics is vital to employment, and is also one of the fundamentals of science, everyone should have the same opportunity to learn and achieve in mathematics. Different studies have shown that, on average, girls do not score as high as boys do in mathematics tests (Robinson et al., 1996; Hedges and Nowell, 1995; Leder, 1990; Hyde et al., 1990; Bailey, 1988). The gender gap becomes wider as the age of pupils increases (Beller and Gafni, 1996; Mulles et al., 1993). Females are also underrepresented in advanced mathematics courses and college majors and in careers that involve mathematics (Armstrong, 1985; Keeves, 1973). To explore the reasons for gender imbalance in mathematics education, different factors have been identified by different studies conducted in different areas of the world. Attitude to mathematics, sex-stereotyped curriculum, socio-cultural factors, family background and educational experience, classroom organisation, etc., are some of those factors (Fox, 1980; Sher- man, 1979; Hewitt, 1979). On the other hand, the widespread nature of the imbalance has led some investigators to suggest that it is the result of innate differences in ability between the sexes (Witkin, 1973; Buffery and Gray, 1972). Bangladesh is a developing country with a high level of illiteracy. About a quarter of its school-age children are still out of school (Nath, forthcoming). Of those who enrol, nearly a quarter leave their school during first grade, about 60 per cent never reach the fourth grade and 88 per cent leave school at the end of fifth grade (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 1994). As a percentage of males the current enrolment rate of females is 86 per cent in the primary stage, 46 per cent in the secondary stage and 19 per cent in the tertiary stage (UNDP, 1994). Percentages of female enrolment are even lower in the rural areas, where women lag far behind men in all aspects of opportunity and achieve- ment. About 85 per cent of rural women are functionally illiterate (UNESCO, 1989).