New Study Finds That Women Have an Edge in Academic Achievement Worldwide

The educational achievements of girls and women in the United States have been well documented. But a new study by researchers at the University of Missouri and the University of Glasgow in Scotland finds that girls are outpacing boys in academic achievement in a large majority of the world’s nations.

The study examined the educational achievements of 1.5 million 15-year-olds from around the world. The researchers found that girls outperformed boys in 70 percent of the nations that were included in the study.

David Geary, Curators Professor of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri and a co-author of the study, found that “even in countries where women’s liberties are severely restricted, we found that girls are outperforming boys in reading, mathematics, and science literacy by age 15, regardless of political, economic, social or gender equality issues and policies found in those countries.” The study found that even in countries where women’s rights and opportunities are severely restricted, such as several in the Middle East, the gender gap in educational achievement is relatively large and favors girls.

The study, “Sex Differences in Academic Achievement Are Not Related to Political, Economic, or Social Equality,” was published in the journal Intelligence. It may be accessed here.