Women are now officially smarter than men

Arlene Stacey | July 18th, 2012

The debate about which sex is smarter has long been on the minds of men and women, but recent IQ test scores may finally provide an answer.

In a new study, New Zealand based IQ testing expert James Flynn found that women have finally matched or bested men in test scores for the first time in history.

For the past century, women have fallen slightly below men on average during IQ testing, but never by more than 5 points. In recent years, however, women have closed that gap, and even surpassed men.

“Over the last 100 years, everyone in the developing world has been gaining about three IQ points, but women have been gaining faster. This is the result of modernity. In every country where women have an equal chance of modernity, women have caught men [in IQ testing],” Flynn told ABC News.

Collecting data from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Estonia, Israel and Argentina, he analyzed the scores on a standard IQ test called the Raven test. At least 500 men and 500 women between the ages of 15 and 18 were tested from each country.

“In all of those samples, women are the equal of men, perhaps scoring a half point or a point higher,” he noted.

Israel was the only exception in his findings, where women remained two points behind men at 98 points to men’s 100. This is, Flynn said, thought to be due to the number of Orthodox women living in Israel who are cloistered from modern society.

He also found that women were more likely than men to qualify for post-secondary education. This is because, while female high school students with a score of 100 get As and Bs in school, males with the same IQ get Bs and Cs.

His reasoning for the increased scores: “As we enter the modern worlds, our minds change just as our automobiles have changed. Where women can have an equal chance to interface with the modern world, they equal on IQ and surpass on academic performance,” he said.

Flynn believes there is no reason this won’t go on to help women advance on an occupational and professional level, but notes that social factors also effect success in those areas.

Canadians were not included in this study, but the trend more than likely holds true here as well, since Canada’s educational profile is similar to other developed countries.

Flynn has yet to release the exact results of his study, saving it for a book he will be publishing in September.

Watch ABC News talk about the findings:

Sources: Toronto Star, ABC