While education systems around the world have made major strides to close gender gaps in student performance, girls and boys remain deeply divided in career choices, according to a new OECD report.The ABC of Gender Equality in Education: Aptitude, Behaviour and Confidence says that gender bias, conscious and unconscious, among parents, teachers and employers is partly responsible.“Despite major progress over the past two decades in reducing the gender gap, we need to find new ways to address the social and emotional aspects of opening children's minds to their abilities and future careers,” said OECD Deputy Secretary-General Stefan Kapferer, launching the report in Madrid.“The good news is that these findings highlight that what's needed is neither extensive nor expensive education reform but a concerted effort by parents, teachers and employers.”According to the findings in the report, parents are much more likely to expect their sons to work in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) careers than their daughters, even if they show the same ability.By contrast, says the report, boys are much more likely to underperform at school than girls. In fact, six out of ten of low achievers in reading, maths and science in the OECD surveys are boys.As the evidence in the report makes clear, gender disparities in school performance stem from students’ attitudes towards learning and their behaviour in school, from how they choose to spend their leisure time, and from the confidence they have – or do not have – in their own abilities as students.Employers also showed an innate bias towards boys. While girls are more likely to research careers via the Internet, boys are more likely to get hands-on experience by working as interns, visiting a job fair or speaking to careers advisors outside of school. Employers can do more to engage with girls to learn more about potential careers, says the report.Share your views and experiences with the Re:locate global community via our Facebook page or at #wwgw2015 (worldwideglobalwomen 2015) on our Twitter pageFor more Re:locate news and features about women in business click here