Since IQ tests were first administered about a century ago, women on average always have scored slightly lower than men. But James R. Flynn, emeritus professor of political studies at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, and a leading scholar on IQ research, has completed research that finds that women now score higher than men on IQ tests.
The so-called “Flynn Effect” has demonstrated that human intelligence, particularly in developed nations, has increased over the past 100 years with average IQ scores of both men and women increasing significantly. Flynn’s research shows that average IQ scores have increased by about 30 points over the past century but that women’s gains have outpaced those of men. Dr. Flynn believes that the complexity of the modern world demands that people become more intelligent. This has been especially true for women in developed countries as they have become more equal members of society and have increased their participation in business, higher education, politics, and the professions.
Flynn’s latest book, Are We Getting Smarter: Rising IQ in the Twenty-First Century, will be published by Cambridge University Press in September.