Essay Series 1.1: While there are biological differences between women and men, women are not the weaker sex.

Women and men have the same basic physiology, senses, intelligence, learning ability, emotions, and moral sense.⁶ Most of the biological differences that exist between them relate to reproduction. Women’s bodies have to be immensely strong and resilient to nurture the fetus until delivery of the baby after nine months. Of women with infants born in 2022, 86 percent breastfed their babies at birth, and 62 percent were still doing so at six months.^{7, 8} The changes to a woman’s body during pregnancy, delivery, and the early part of motherhood are profound and can last for years. Women are strong enough to bear and nurture children and often have more than one. A man’s major physical contribution to a woman’s pregnancy, delivery of a baby, and breast-feeding is sperm.

Brain Differences between Women and Men

According to one influential set of evidence-based research findings, biological sex accounts for no more than two percent of the variance in human brain structure.⁹ One of the differences is that, on average, women’s brains are somewhat smaller than men’s. However, women’s brains have the same number of brain cells. Women’s and men’s capabilities are equal in terms of reasoning, planning, thinking abstractly, problem solving, learning, and understanding.¹⁰

An overlap exists between the distributions of men and women on all currently known measures of the human brain that show sex differences. Researchers have found that the brain structure typical of women is also common in men. Likewise, the brain structure of men is also common among women. Researchers also studied psychological traits and found that each person has a unique “mosaic” of both female-typical and male-typical traits.¹¹

Some minor differences in mental abilities do exist between the sexes. For example, women tend to be better than men in verbal expression. Men tend to be better in spatial tests where they rotate objects mentally.¹² Recent research has shown that some of the sex differences in spatial ability could involve the lack of experience that girls and women have with these kinds of tasks and their related confidence levels.¹³

Physical Differences between Women and Men

Women and men have different strengths, with women sometimes having the advantage over men. Boys and girls are roughly similar in strength and speed until puberty.¹⁴ Men tend to have more upper body strength because they have more muscle mass there. Men also tend to be better than women in throwing for accuracy.¹⁵ There is less difference in leg strength.¹⁶ Among the advantages women have over men are that they tend to be able to hold muscle contractions longer. Women also tend to have greater physical dexterity than men in some tasks.¹⁷

Women have stronger immune systems than men. Their systems can fight off bacterial and viral infections better than men’s. For example, women were less likely to die from COVID-19 during the pandemic. A disadvantage of strong immune systems is that women have a higher prevalence of autoimmune disorders. These disorders occur when a person’s immune system attacks their body.¹⁸

Reflections

Historically, Western societies asserted that women were less intelligent, more emotional, and weaker than men. These myths have endured for thousands of years. I grew up thinking that I was weaker than boys, and that they were naturally better at sports, math, and science. I made choices about which classes to take in high school and at university based on these myths. At the time, I had little interest in science. In later years, I began reading about physics, biology, environmental science, and animal science because I wanted to understand more about my world. Eventually, I got an advanced degree in public health, which required sophisticated math and research skills. I missed some opportunities because I internalized societal assumptions about women’s capabilities.

Have you missed opportunities because you or others believed that women were inferior to men?