Decoding the Gender-Equality Paradox
A new paper gets to the heart of a counterintuitive finding
One of the most surprising discoveries of the last few decades is known as the gender-equality paradox. This refers to the fact that, for a large number of traits, sex differences are larger, rather than smaller, in more gender-equal nations. The finding is surprising because it seems entirely plausible that, in cultures where men and women are treated differently and play different roles in society, sex differences will tend to be magnified. Even if there’s an innate contribution to many sex differences, this seems like a reasonable expectation. But the reasonable expectation turns out to be wrong. In fact, it’s not just wrong; it has things back-to-front, at least for some traits.
But how many and which ones? Are some sex differences smaller in more gender-equal nations, as we might originally have expected? And does gender equality per se predict these effects, or do other variables correlated with gender equality do a better job - variables like education, human development, or wealth?
These are some of the fascinating questions tackled in a new paper by Agneta Herlitz, Ida Hönig, and Martin Asperholm. The paper reports the results of two analyses. The first was a systematic review of 54 articles looking at the magnitude of sex differences across countries. The second was a new analysis based on 27 meta-analyses and large-scale studies on sex differences, which the authors used to assess which variables best predict how large or small the differences are. Crunching the numbers, they came to some fascinating, surprising conclusions.