Why Are (the Best) Women So Good At Chess? Participation Rates And Gender Differences In Intellectual Domains

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 01 Jan 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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The lack of women at the top level of intellectually demanding activities like science and chess is often attributed to their inferior cognitive abilities.

We show in chess that although the best men are better than the best women, the difference is little more than would be expected given the much greater number of men who play.

The simple but often overlooked statistical fact is that the best performers in a large group are likely to be better than the best performers in a smaller one. This may explain why women are underrepresented at the top of other activities where far fewer of them compete.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

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