FWIW, I don't believe there are more gifted boys than girls, or that tests necessarily favor boys over girls (instead I defer to ash's note that test norms typically are *not* given based on gender.
I do think that what I saw in our school district in elementary school indicated children who acted out in class or appeared to have behavior challenges were more often tested and therefore found eligible for our districts' gifted programs than children who did not act out in class based largely on teacher referral. I didn't see that necessarily result in a high ratio of boys to girls here but can see that might lead to what looks like gender bias at times.
Every gifted meet up or program that I have taken my DD10 to has had way more boys than girls. When I look at even the AMC8 I see that boys are excelling at a much higher rate than girls.
Are boys excelling at a higher rate or participating at a higher rater? One thing that you might be seeing, depending on the types of "gifted" activities you're taking your dd too, is a subconscious parental bias toward certain activities for boys vs girls - not necessarily IQ-related, but activity-related. Our ds was very interested in robotics for awhile, for example, and we saw way more boys than girls participating in robotics. This doesn't mean boys are by nature "better" at robotics than girls, but does indicate that somewhere, either among parents who choose and drive back and forth, or among the children who participate themselves, there are more boys than girls interested in pursuing that interest at that age. I'm a scientist, my ds is a scientist, we've both enjoyed STEM-based hobbies and interests and given each of our children a chance to participate in STEM-type extracurriculars, and our girls have, overwhelmingly and consistently, chosen other types of activities instead... even though both are strong in math/science in academics and have career aspirations in math/science. The just aren't excited about hanging out with the kids who are into robotics and chess club etc. And yes, they've tried both!
I have always believed that girls have the same potential as boys but the empirical evidence just is not to be seen any place that I have looked.
I'm wondering where you've looked other than AMC8 which you've mentioned above?
Is it cultural bias in that Asians definitely favour boy children and Asians tend to be over represented in any gathering of the gifted?
I realize you're just looking for answers based on very natural questions based on your personal experience, and likely influenced based on where you live (just a guess).. but fwiw, I wouldn't make the above generalization - that's really all it is, and definitely is *not* true among Asians I know (either in favoring boys over girls or in being over-represented in gifted gatherings).
I am asking this because I am trying to find peers for my DD and it hasn't been easy. My DD has been lucky enough to connect with some gifted girls (even a couple of DDs from this site) but the pickings sure seem slimmer for girls.
What's worked best for us in finding peers was to focus on what our children liked to do, rather than focus on finding gifted-specific programs.
I am not and my DD is not a snob about being gifted in the slightest. I just want my DD to see that she doesn't have to be a bimbo and that there are actually more girls out there than she thinks who like to think deeply and quirkily.
You're touching on issues here that impact non-HG+ girls too.. not just high IQ girls, especially as they approach the teen years. I'm not mentioning that to discount the benefit of finding ability-peers, just noting that it's an issue many moms-of-girls face, and an issue that might not disappear just because you find ability-peers either. Hope that makes sense!
Best wishes,
polarbear
