A gender gap is a disparity between genders involving quality or quantity. A gender gap favoring the male sex is called a pro-male gender gap, while the opposite is called a pro-female gender gap. Many people, however, are offended by gender gaps that favor the opposite sex. Men are believed to be better doing some things, and women are believed to be better in other things.
While some of the qualities that characterize gender gaps may be biological, it can be argued that some of these qualities have a founding in sociological treatment of the genders, such as gender norms, and gender roles, and thus these gaps are not somehow "established facts". This is particularly evident in the "gap" that "Female students are believed to be better in literature", however, in older times, a lot of quality literature was produced by men, and was the exclusive domain of men.
Pro-male gender gaps
- A man has more muscle mass than a woman of the same size.
- An average man is taller than an average woman. (See sexual dimorphism)
- Men are believed to be better in politics and governing a country, or that patriarchy is believed to be better than matriarchy.
- Men have more privileges in many religious organizations.
- Male students are believed to be better in mathematics.
- Male students get higher SAT college entrance test scores.
- In China and India, female fetuses are often aborted, especially in the former country, due to one-child policy.
- Males are much less likely to violate certain dress codes, especially in high schools and workforce training centers.
- The median male income is higher than the median female income despite the Equal Pay Act.
Pro-female gender gaps
- Women live longer than men in most countries. Most notable exception is Afghanistan. Gender gap inversion is possible, since the male life expectancy increases slightly faster than the female life expectancy. Life expectancy also has a racial gap, favoring the Asian and Caucasian races.
- Female students are believed to be better in literature.
- Automobile insurance companies charge more for teenage boys than their female counterparts, but this gender gap has narrowed gradually through out the years. This gender gap is possibly subject to gender gap inversion.
- Life insurance is higher for males than for females, but life insurance is eligible up to the age of 85.
- Women are less likely to be in prison. However, the female prison population increases at a higher rate than the male prison population.
Value-neutral gender gaps
