Tackling the 'number confidence gender gap'
This year, Number Confidence Week addressed the ‘number confidence gender gap’, focusing on the barriers women and girls often face regarding number confidence. All too often women face negative stereotypes suggesting that they are not ‘good with numbers’.
Our first ever themed campaign - shining a spotlight on gender and numeracy - inspired almost double the number of actions compared to last year. Highlighting that numeracy is an equality issue obviously resonated very strongly with our beneficiaries.
Our research shows that women tend to have lower number confidence than men and this has far reaching consequences that must be addressed.
By sharing real stories, providing tailored resources, and sparking open conversations, the campaign empowered more women to recognise their potential and take meaningful steps towards improving their numeracy skills.
This year's campaign, which has been run with Founding Supporter TP ICAP since 2020, not only raised awareness but also inspired action, ensuring that everyone, regardless of gender, has the opportunity to thrive with numbers.
The positive impact of our campaign
Since 2020, the campaign has empowered over 450,000 people to take action towards building their confidence with numbers.
This year alone, 193,067 actions were taken towards improving number confidence. Stellar media coverage reached over 62 million people across 35 print, online and broadcast mentions. Find out more about the impact of the campaign in the impact report.
The schools, colleges, organisations and individuals that supported the campaign, who were surveyed, said:
- 98% effective in our aim of inspiring adults and children to improve their number confidence and skills
- 98% would recommend the Number Confidence Week campaign to a friend or colleague
- 63% have more awareness of the ways numbers are used in daily life
- 43% feel more prepared to use numbers in daily life
Research shows that women are twice as anxious about maths as men, affecting their everyday lives from managing their household budgets to career choices and supporting children.
But, crucially, this barrier can be overcome, and our campaign took bold steps to empower positive change. At the heart of Number Confidence Week 2024 were the real stories of individuals overcoming their anxieties and building confidence with numbers. Read more about those stories in the report.
