Think girls can’t do math? Watch this awesome video and learn a thing or two

So you think girls can’t do math?

Try telling that to this young group of female mathematical machines.

This incredible video posted on Facebook by a viral media site called Thatscoop shows a group of girls adding, subtracting and multiplying numbers in their heads — while moving their hands in a kind of math-dance — as a man rapidly reads out sums that most people would struggle to do without the aid of a calculator.

Notice, by the way, that the man is using a calculator to check that the girls’ answers are correct — which they almost always are.

There is no indication in the video of the girls’ ages or which country they are from.

But it doesn’t really matter.

The point is they are a potent reminder that girls can a) do math, b) apparently enjoy it and — drum roll — c) actually be really good at it.

It’s an important message that doesn’t seem to be getting through to enough girls around the world, judging by the persistent under-representation of girls and women in degrees and careers related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (commonly referred to by their acronym STEM).

But it’s not for lack of trying.

From the United States and Europe to Singapore and Australia, governments and organizations are running campaigns and programs aimed at getting more girls and young women to participate in STEM-related subjects and fields.

Closing the gender gap is a big challenge.  

In the United States, for example, women held 24 percent of STEM-related jobs in 2011, according to Department of Commerce data. Yet women accounted for 48 percent of the total workforce.  

Furthermore, one in seven engineers were female and just 12 percent of computer science graduates were women. Other countries report similar data. 

There are lots of reasons why more women should be kicking butt in STEM. 

For a start, women in STEM-related careers can earn 33 percent more than they would in non-STEM fields, and the gender wage gap is smaller than in other occupations.

It's also important for helping countries strengthen innovation and maximize productivity. And it makes good business sense — employers have more recruits to choose from and greater diversity that can inform product development.

But overcoming deeply entrenched gender stereotypes, (e.g. "girls are good at history and art," "boys are good at math and science") is tough.

Many parents and teachers perpetuate the problem by not actively encouraging girls to pursue STEM-related subjects and careers because they don't think such fields are suitable for women or that the girls are capable.

Some experts say the problem begins when children are toddlers and are given gender-specific toys to play with. Boys get building blocks while girls are given dolls. 

"The toys and games that young girls play with mold their educational and career interests; they create dreams of future careers," Andrea Guendelman, co-founder of DevelopHer, a non-profit organization focused on the creation of more STEM-inspired toys for girls, told CNN.

"Extensive research shows that certain toys and games can help young children develop the spatial logic and other analytical skills critical to science, technology, engineering and math," Guendelman went on. "A huge part of the reason women are not entering these fields and huge part of the solution starts at the very beginning."

Another problem cited by experts is the lack of female Mark Zuckerbergs and Steve Jobs to mentor young women and show them it is possible to pursue — and to be successful in — a STEM career.

Perhaps the girls in the video should be given the job of encouraging more women to study math and science.

At least they make it look fun.