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Research Article

The changing face of cognitive gender differences in Europe

Daniela Weber, Vegard Skirbekk, Inga Freund, and Agneta Herlitz
PNAS August 12, 2014 111 (32) 11673-11678; first published July 28, 2014; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319538111
Daniela Weber
aWorld Population Program, Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, 2361 Laxenburg, Austria;
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  • For correspondence: weberd@iiasa.ac.at
Vegard Skirbekk
aWorld Population Program, Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, 2361 Laxenburg, Austria;
bDivision of Epidemiology, Department of Health Statistics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0403 Oslo, Norway;
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Inga Freund
cResearch Unit Economics, Institute of Mathematical Methods in Economics, Vienna University of Technology, 1040 Vienna, Austria; and
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Agneta Herlitz
dSection of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, and Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, S-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
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  1. Edited by Bruce S. McEwen, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, and approved July 7, 2014 (received for review October 17, 2013)

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Significance

Results showing that gender differences in mathematics and science are smaller in countries with higher gender equality have led researchers to conclude that cognitive gender differences are decreasing as a function of increased gender equality. Instead, we find that improved living conditions and less gender-restricted educational opportunities are associated with increased gender differences favoring women in some cognitive functions and decreases or elimination of gender differences in other cognitive abilities. Our results suggest that these changes take place as a result of women gaining more than men from societal improvements over time, thereby increasing their general cognitive ability more than men.

Abstract

Cognitive gender differences and the reasons for their origins have fascinated researchers for decades. Using nationally representative data to investigate gender differences in cognitive performance in middle-aged and older populations across Europe, we show that the magnitude of these differences varies systematically across cognitive tasks, birth cohorts, and regions, but also that the living conditions and educational opportunities individuals are exposed to during their formative years are related to their later cognitive performance. Specifically, we demonstrate that improved living conditions and less gender-restricted educational opportunities are associated with increased gender differences favoring women in some cognitive functions (i.e., episodic memory) and decreases (i.e., numeracy) or elimination of differences in other cognitive abilities (i.e., category fluency). Our results suggest that these changes take place due to a general increase in women’s cognitive performance over time, associated with societal improvements in living conditions and educational opportunities.

  • cognitive aging
  • gender inequality
  • sex differences
  • cross-cultural research

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: weberd{at}iiasa.ac.at.
  • Author contributions: D.W., V.S., I.F., and A.H. designed research; D.W. analyzed data; D.W. and A.H. wrote the paper; D.W. led the research; and D.W. and A.H. provided the methodological and theoretical framework.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1319538111/-/DCSupplemental.

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Cognitive gender differences in Europe
Daniela Weber, Vegard Skirbekk, Inga Freund, Agneta Herlitz
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2014, 111 (32) 11673-11678; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1319538111

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Cognitive gender differences in Europe
Daniela Weber, Vegard Skirbekk, Inga Freund, Agneta Herlitz
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2014, 111 (32) 11673-11678; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1319538111
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