Does Social Inequality Prevent Girls from Succeeding in School?

You've probably already read that girls tend to do better than boys in school. And new research indicates that this holds true regardless of equality issues, such as where they live, what their social standing is, or how much money their family has. Such are the findings of a study by American and Scottish psychologists, who examined the test scores of 1.5 million 15-year-olds from all over the world and found that the so-called "weaker sex" is academically stronger in 70 percent of the countries and regions that they studied. The findings held true even in places such as Jordan and Qatar, which are not renowned for gender equality. In fact, the only three places where boys scored higher than girls were Costa Rica, Colombia, and the Indian state Himachal Pradesh. However, there was some good news for the guys -- at the highest levels of academic achievement, the boys outperformed the girls.

What is he/she thinking?:

• Women's brains are typically 14 percent smaller than men's, but women score better in memory tests.
• Men use the left, or logical, side of the brain most frequently, while women use both sides (logic and emotion) equally.
• On average, men speak half as many words as women on a daily basis: 4,000 vs. 8,000 words. Women also gesture three times more often than men.