Women more likely to feel maths anxiety, with effects passing to daughters: Study by Sunak–Murty charity

The Richmond Project’s study surveyed 8,000 adults, combining self-reported confidence levels with numeracy-based questions.

A study conducted by an education charity founded by former Britain prime minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty has found that girls’ confidence in mathematics declines from a young age, with parental attitudes — particularly those of mothers — playing a significant role.

The findings come from a survey carried out by the Richmond Project, an organisation established to improve numeracy skills and confidence across age groups. The results were first reported by The Sunday Times ahead of the report’s formal release next week.

According to the research, differences in how boys and girls perceive their mathematical ability begin to emerge early in childhood. Among children aged four to eight, 51 per cent of boys described maths as “easy”, compared with 41 per cent of girls. By the time children reach the age range of nine to 18, the gap widens substantially: 86 per cent of boys reported feeling confident in maths, while the figure for girls stood at 63 per cent.

Akshata Murty told The Sunday Times that anxiety around mathematics is more common among women and that this unease can be transmitted to children at home. She said that mothers, in particular, often find it more challenging than fathers to support children with maths-related schoolwork.

“Our survey shows that, if they are parents, women tend to struggle more with helping children with their maths homework compared to men. And so that goes on and on,” Murty said.

She added that emotional responses to numbers are often absorbed by children without conscious awareness. “There is this anxiety that women feel more so than men. I'm not saying men don't feel it at all, but women tend to feel it more, and that translates intergenerationally,” she said.

“If a young girl sees her mother feeling anxious, then she subconsciously buys into that anxiety. So I think that's how that cycle goes on and on.”

Murty, who is the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and author and philanthropist Sudha Murty, said her own upbringing differed markedly. She cited early exposure to science and engineering within her family as a protective factor against developing anxiety around maths. While her mother trained as an engineer, she also grew up surrounded by relatives working in scientific fields.

Referring to the aims of the Richmond Project — named after Sunak’s North Yorkshire parliamentary constituency — Murty said the organisation is focused on changing how people relate to numbers in everyday life.

“Our whole mission is how do we transform people's lives using number skills,” she said.

She emphasised that numeracy should be seen as a practical tool rather than an abstract academic subject. “We are really passionate about saying use numbers in your day-to-day life, whether that is indeed planning your weekly shopping, cooking and recipes, whether that is figuring out train timetables, bus timetables, thinking of splitting a bill,” she said.

Murty also said that demystifying maths was a priority in raising her two teenage daughters, Krishna and Anoushka. She described problem-solving as central to how her family engages with numbers.

“Maths is problem-solving. We tend to love puzzles as a family. When they were younger, we loved jigsaw puzzles. Now that they're older, we do everything from Wordle to crossword puzzles,” she said.

The Richmond Project’s study surveyed 8,000 adults, combining self-reported confidence levels with numeracy-based questions. The data showed that women were almost twice as likely as men to report feeling anxious or overwhelmed when dealing with numbers. In professional environments, only 43 per cent of women said they enjoyed working with numbers, compared with 61 per cent of men.

Murty described the contrast in attitudes towards maths as “stark”, noting that the divergence observed during primary school years appears to persist into adulthood.

The charity was established after Sunak moved to the backbenches in July 2024, following his tenure as prime minister. Its stated aim is to remove psychological and structural barriers to numeracy and to build confidence in using numbers across different stages of life.

The full findings of the survey are expected to be released publicly next week.

(With inputs from PTI)