Are Men Smarter Than Women?

There is a long-standing notion that males are brighter than women, but when it comes down to it, who is the more intelligent of the two? Are men more intelligent than women?

Male and female brain volumes were found to be 8–13 percent bigger in early research, although this has now been linked to variations in body size. Women's brains have larger cortical surface areas due to increased gyrofication, or brain folding. Furthermore, size isn't necessarily a good thing. Although they are intelligent, sperm whales, elephants, and dolphins are not as cognitively advanced as humans, despite having larger brains than us.

However, there are other anatomical distinctions as well. For example, women have more connections between the hemispheres, whereas men have more connections inside them. However, there is a considerable amount of physical structural overlap across the sexes as revealed by MRI brain imaging. Researchers discovered that, after examining 1400 brains and comparing the sexes, the majority of men and women have a mosaic of normal male and female brain regions.

Additionally, gender stereotyped behaviors were assessed in this study. Similar to how playing video games is typically associated with men, while scrapbooking is typically associated with women, the data showed that 0.1% of test subjects exclusively exhibited conventional male or female behaviors. Similar results are obtained from intelligence tests; major IQ studies indicate that there are little to no differences in general intellect between the sexes, but that males have greater visual-spatial abilities and women have stronger linguistic abilities.

It's interesting to note that research indicates that males vary more on exams, scoring the highest and lowest. Men were shown to have 3.3 to 5.5 IQ points higher than women in one meta analysis of 22 research, although the methodology of this study has been questioned by academics. In 70% of countries, women consistently performed better academically in language, math, and science. However, males performed 33 points better in math and science on the SAT in the United States. Other assessments, such as the Program for International Student Assessment, revealed that men and women performed similarly in a number of nations, with women doing better in others, such as Iceland, indicating that cultural and environmental variables—rather than just biological ones—were likely at work.

However, studies have shown that preconceived notions about women's abilities actually affect their performance. Women dramatically underperformed compared to their male colleagues on a certain arithmetic exam when they were informed that there were gender inequalities. Women who were informed there was no difference, however, received the same scores. The stereotype danger is the name given to this phenomenon. Parents are 2.5 times more likely to look for "is my son gifted than is my daughter gifted," according to data from Google searches. even though there are 11% more females in gifted programs in the US. Furthermore, females become aware of these biases as early as age 6.

At age six, both boys and girls selected a male figure as the brightest, despite the fact that at age five, both genders identify intellect with their own gender when read a tale about a particularly brilliant individual. In a related study, children were asked whether they would want to play a game designed for extremely intelligent individuals. At age 5, both sexes expressed interest in playing, but by age 6, females had determined these activities weren't for them. even if research indicate that women encounter obstacles while trying to work in STEM industries.

Research university science faculty members evaluated applicants for a lab manager post in a double-blind study. They were unaware that the names on the applications were assigned at random, either male or female. Therefore, despite the fact that the applications with female names were similar, the faculty thought the male candidate names were much more qualified, employable, and worthy of mentorship. In addition, men were given starting salaries that were on average greater than those of women (26,000 vs. 30,000). Even while these studies reveal a dismal reality, research does indicate that there is rising equality between the sexes in terms of education and the passage of time. Despite these obstacles, women nonetheless make significant contributions to our body of scientific knowledge.

This year, Maryam Mirzakhani becomes the first female math Nobel laureate, following Rosalind Franklin who made it possible for humans to comprehend our own DNA and Katherine Johnson who assisted in Apollo 11's lunar landing. "Mirzakhan's selection does exactly nothing to convince me that women can do mathematical research at the same level as men," stated fellow mathematician Izabella Laba. That has never been a question in my mind at all. Instead, what I take up from it is that we, as a society—men and women alike—are getting better at recognizing brilliance in women's work and supporting and cultivating mathematical genius in women."