Curtin University researchers set out to test the theory that girls - even those born in Australia - performed worse in academic tests if their parents migrated from a country where women had limited access to high school education.
Mike Dockery, who was the lead author from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, said their findings successfully proved the link.
"Where the parents were born, that does have an impact on how girls perform on these tests in science, reading and mathematics," Dr Dockery said.
