Female Advantage Research Articles

Novel learning ratio from the NAB list learning test distinguishes between clinical groups: clinical validation and sex-related differences

ABSTRACT List-learning tasks provide a wealth of information about an individual’s cognitive abilities: attention, encoding, storage, retrieval, recognition. A more recently developed metric, the Learning Ratio (LR), supplements information about cognitive ability and can assist the clinician in determining whether an individual has cognitive impairment. The LR is calculated by taking the difference between the individuals’ raw score on the first learning trial and their raw score on the last learning trial, which is then divided by the number of words left to be learned after the first learning trial. A LR derived from the list-learning task from the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB) was evaluated to determine ability to distinguish those with normal cognition from those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Results from the present study indicate the NAB LR is able to distinguish between clinical groups; recommended cutoffs for the NAB LR scores are provided. We also found a significant female sex-advantage for the NAB LR in those with normal memory ability and demonstrated the female sex advantage decreased with increasing memory impairment. Taken together, the NAB LR may assist clinicians in making an accurate and early diagnosis and may be helpful for tracking learning and functioning across multiple assessments.

Test Participation or Test Performance: Why Do Men Benefit from Test-Based Admission to Higher Education?

This study illuminates the male advantage in test-based admissions to higher education. In contrast to many other countries, admission tests in Germany are optional, and test-free programs are available. This context offers a unique opportunity to investigate whether the male advantage in test-based admissions is caused by gender differences in test performance or in test participation. We use novel register data for the whole population of 300,000 applicants to highly selective and prestigious medical programs in Germany. We find that men perform better in tests and that female applicants are more likely to withdraw from admission tests. Both differences, however, depend on high school grade point average (GPA): The male advantage in test performance emerges only among test-takers with a lower GPA, and female applicants’ stronger test avoidance appears only among women with a medium GPA. Ultimately, both mechanisms contribute to a male advantage in test-based admissions (ceteris paribus of GPA), with better test performance being the major source for male applicants’ higher admission chances. As a consequence, we find the female advantage in school performance and the male advantage in test-based admissions almost neutralize each other.

The gender-equal Union? Measuring female (dis)advantage and achievement in European Union Member States using a benefit-of-the-doubt framework

The gender-equal Union? Measuring female (dis)advantage and achievement in European Union Member States using a benefit-of-the-doubt framework

Molecular Biology of Cytoplasmic Incompatibility Caused by Wolbachia Endosymbionts.

Among endosymbiotic bacteria living within eukaryotic cells, Wolbachia is exceptionally widespread, particularly in arthropods. Inherited through the female germline, it has evolved ways to increase the fraction of bacterially infected offspring by inducing parthenogenesis, feminization, male killing, or, most commonly, cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). In CI, Wolbachia infection of males causes embryonic lethality unless they mate with similarly infected females, creating a relative reproductive advantage for infected females. A set of related Wolbachia bicistronic operons encodes the CI-inducing factors. The downstream gene encodes a deubiquitylase or nuclease and is responsible for CI induction by males, while the upstream product when expressed in females binds its sperm-introduced cognate partner and rescues viability. Both toxin-antidote and host-modification mechanisms have been proposed to explain CI. Interestingly, male killing by either Spiroplasma or Wolbachia endosymbionts involves deubiquitylases as well. Interference with the host ubiquitin system may therefore be a common theme among endosymbiont-mediated reproductive alterations.

Sex differences in vision and hearing impairments across age and European regions : Findings from SHARE.

Although sensory impairments are common conditions among older people, research often fails to consider the role of sex. We examined sex differences in vision impairment and hearing impairment across age and European regions. We conducted across-sectional study based on apooled sample of 65,656 females and 54,881 males aged 50years and older participating in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) from 2004-2020. Logistic regression models with robust standard errors providing odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to examine associations. European females had generally higher odds of vision impairment (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.12-1.21) but lower odds of hearing impairment than European males (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.67-0.73). The female disadvantage in vision increased with advancing age, whereas the female advantage in hearing decreased. No overall sex difference in vision was found in northern Europe, but females had more vision impairments than males in southern (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.14-1.32), western (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.08-1.21) and eastern (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.20) Europe. Females were healthier than males in terms of hearing in all regions, with the largest female advantage in northern Europe (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.53-0.64). Our findings demonstrate an overall consistent pattern of sex differences in sensory impairments across Europe showing an increasing female disadvantage in vision and adecreasing female advantage in hearing with advancing age.

The Crowing Political Matriarchy in Homa Bay County (1963-2022)

Purpose: Crowing Political matriarchy in Homa Bay describes the female’s political take over as an impact of the prolonged pursuit of gender equality in Kenya. The takeover is due to policy frameworks intended to address gender gap. While these policy frameworks have been instrumental, historical aspects relating to gender egalitarianism has been underscored to providing elaborate intervention on gender inequality. This paper investigated the impact of the pursuit of gender egalitarianism amidst the survival of patriarchy in Kenya with specific reference to Homa-Bay County since 1964.
 Methodology: Study is guided by Patriarchal Theory of Robert Filmer which highlights how patriarchal ideology elevated men to superior positions. In the contrary, policy framework; legislative, institutional, and administrative interventions adopted towards gender egalitarianism appear to bear fruits in Homa Bay. A historical research design was applied together with non-probability sampling methods and procedures to identify informants during the study. Other primary data was gathered from the National Archives while secondary data were collected from theses, journal articles, books, and other publications from the internet, university, and other libraries. The data collected has been thematic analysis based of period. The findings may guide policy makers to review and re-assess the impact of the strategies established in the pursuit of gender egalitarianism. Paper deals with the state of gender and political transformation in Homa-Bay County since 1992.
 Findings: Publication indicates that, legislative, institutional, and administrative interventions adopted in Kenya challenge the patriarchal legitimacy and political entitlement.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: This treatise reports that the gender egalitarian policies and practices make political voices of females in Homa Bay to crow louder than men. Female political voices in Homa Bay began with Asiyo and Bondo who were elected Member of Parliament and councilor respectively in 1980’s. Nevertheless, the gender egalitarian policies have been legalized by the Kenya constitution 2010 to the advantage of females leading to the pinnacle of political matriarchy in Homa Bay.

Female advantage in verbal learning revisited: a HUNT study

ABSTRACT The argument for a female advantage in word list learning is often based on partial observations that focus on a single component of the task. Using a large sample (N = 4403) of individuals 13–97 years of age from the general population, we investigated whether this advantage is consistently reflected in learning, recall, and recognition and how other cognitive abilities differentially support word list learning. A robust female advantage was found in all subcomponents of the task. Semantic clustering mediated the effects of short-term and working memory on long-delayed recall and recognition, and serial clustering on short-delayed recall. These indirect effects were moderated by sex, with men benefiting more from reliance on each clustering strategy than women. Auditory attention span mediated the effect of pattern separation on true positives in word recognition, and this effect was stronger in men than in women. Men had better short-term and working memory scores, but lower auditory attention span and were more vulnerable to interference both in delayed recall and recognition. Thus, our data suggest that auditory attention span and interference control (inhibition), rather than short-term or working memory scores, semantic and/or serial clustering on their own, underlie better performance on word list learning in women.

DIMENSIONS OF GENDER (IN) EQUALITY IN INDIA- A COMPARATIVE STUDY AMONG STATES OF INDIA

Abstract
 This study takesup” Dimensions of Gender Equality in India.”While examining the dimensions the researchers compares the gender development index reports of states in India Gender equality-a driver for economic growth, matters in its own right,and as as pre requisite for the health and development of families and economies. The term gender equality has been on the corpet for the past two decades. The millennium development goals set gender equality and women empowerment at 3 rd place. Earlier women empowerment had been assessed interns of access to resources and later on moved to control over resources. The resources include physical resources. Fiscal resopurces, financial resources and intellectual resources. The term empowerment has been pronounced with the term empowerment after the millennium year. The post 2015 framework present a unique opportunity to build on the achievement of the millennium development goal, while also addressing that lag behind. The sustainable development goal also set Gender equality at fifth place. The reason is that Gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates the progress of a country. The un equal treatment or perceptions of the individuals on the basis of gender have been witnessed not only in developing countries like India, but also in developed countries aswell. Gender related inequality in human well being is one of the most crucial issues in many states in India.The female dis advantage in survival is the important dimension that has drawn the attention of policy makers. InIndia the situation is not even among the states; Kearela has lesser discrimination while Odissa has higher discrimination. The sex ratio is also high in kerela which shows positive symptoms of women empowerment. Maharastra introduced property rights for women. Its percapita income is high compared to kerela but GDI is low. Female Education growth in kerela promotes gender equality.Has education alone dis appear inequalities is the million dollar question? Per capita income is not so high in kerela as compared to other southern states.
 
 The study examines gender equality on the basis of Gender Development Index, which measures gender gap in human development by accounting disparities between men and women in three dimensions of human develoipme3nt, a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living. The global gender gap report places India at 135 out of 146 countries. India has moved from 140 to 135 from last year. Though India is moving towards one of the developed nations in the world, Gender inequality pulling its growth. Which factor is hindering the SGDs 5 the goal gender equality in India? The issue of gender inequality had been in the lime light in all academic conferences, seminars and symposiums. Why gender inequality prevails in higher degree in some states of India? What are the policy measures have to be pinned up? What are the measures to be added in those states? Any other indicators to be included along with HDI indicators? These are the research questions to be addressed. This paper is an attempt made by the researchers to address these issues

Sex differences in functional brain networks involved in interoception: An fMRI study.

Interoception can be described as the ability to perceive inner body sensations and it is different between biological sex. However, no previous research correlated this ability with brain functional connectivity (FC) between males and females. In this study, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate FC of networks involved in interoception among males and females in a sample of healthy volunteers matched for age. In total, 67 participants (34 females, mean age 44.2; 33 males, mean age 37.2) underwent a functional MRI session and completed the Self-Awareness Questionnaire (SAQ) that tests the interoceptive awareness. To assess the effect of sex on scores obtained on the SAQ we performed a multivariate analysis of variance. A whole-brain seed-to-seed FC analysis was conducted to investigate the correlation between SAQ score and FC, and then to test differences in FC between males and females with SAQ score as a covariate. MANOVA revealed a significant difference in SAQ scores between males and females with higher values for the second ones. Also, significant correlations among interoception scores and FC in Salience network and fronto-temporo-parietal brain areas have been detected, with a sharp prevalence for the female. These results support the idea of a female advantage in the attention toward interoceptive sensations, suggesting common inter-network areas that concur to create the sense of self.

Professors’ gender biases in assessing applicants for professorships

Abstract Recent evidence suggests that women are more likely to be selected for professorships when they apply. This female advantage may be partly due to the widely promoted gender-equality policy of having a substantial female quota in selection committees. Yet, research has rarely considered whether male and female committee members evaluate applicants for professorships differently. We address this research gap based on a large factorial survey experiment with German university professors from different disciplines. We asked these professors to rate how qualified hypothetical applicants are for full professorships and the likelihood of inviting these applicants for a job interview. We find that female applicants have an modest advantage both in their perceived qualifications and in their likelihood of being invited—with no differences between the male and female professors assessing them. Importantly, however, the female advantage in invitation does not apply to highly qualified female applicants but only to female applicants with low and mediocre perceived qualifications—again, there is no difference between male and female professors. Moreover, our analyses do not indicate a Matilda effect, that is, we do not find a co-authorship penalty for female applicants.

Revisiting prognostic factors in glioma with leptomeningeal metastases: a comprehensive analysis of clinical and molecular factors and treatment modalities

PurposeTo comprehensively investigate prognostic factors, including clinical and molecular factors and treatment modalities, in adult glioma patients with leptomeningeal metastases (LM).MethodsTotal 226 patients with LM (from 2001 to 2021 among 1495 grade 2 to 4 glioma patients, 88.5% of LM patients being IDH-wildtype) with complete information on IDH mutation, 1p/19q codeletion, and MGMT promoter methylation status were enrolled. Predictors of overall survival (OS) of entire patients were determined by time-dependent Cox analysis, including clinical, molecular, and treatment data. Subgroup analyses were performed for patients with LM at initial diagnosis and LM diagnosed at recurrence (herein, initial and recurrent LM). Identical analyses were performed in IDH-wildtype glioblastoma patients.ResultsMedian OS was 17.0 (IQR 9.7–67.1) months, with shorter median OS in initial LM than recurrent LM patients (12.2 vs 20.6 months, P < 0.001). In entire patients, chemotherapy and antiangiogenic therapy were predictors of longer OS, while male sex and initial LM were predictors of shorter OS. In initial LM, higher KPS, chemotherapy, and antiangiogenic therapy were predictors of longer OS, while male sex was a predictor of shorter OS. In recurrent LM, chemotherapy and longer interval between initial glioma and LM diagnoses were predictors of longer OS, while male sex was a predictor of shorter OS. A similar trend was observed in IDH-wildtype glioblastoma.ConclusionActive chemotherapy and antiangiogenic therapy demonstrated survival benefit in glioma patients with LM. There is consistent female survival advantage, whereas longer interval between initial glioma diagnosis and LM development suggests longer OS in recurrent LM.

Tumor Androgen Receptor Protein Level Is Positively Associated with a Better Overall Survival in Melanoma Patients.

Androgen receptor (AR) is expressed in numerous tissues and serves important biologic functions in skin, prostate, immune, cardiovascular, and neural systems, alongside sexual development. Several studies have associated AR expression and patient survival in various cancers, yet there are limited studies examining the relationship between AR expression and cutaneous melanoma. This study used genomics and proteomics data from The Cancer Proteome Atlas (TCPA) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), with 470 cutaneous melanoma patient data points. Cox regression analyses evaluated the association between AR protein level with overall survival and revealed that a higher level of AR protein was positively associated with a better overall survival (OS) (p = 0.003). When stratified by sex, the AR association with OS was only significant for both sexes. The multivariate Cox models with justifications of sex, age of diagnosis, stage of disease, and Breslow depth of the tumor confirmed the AR-OS association in all patients. However, the significance of AR was lost when ulceration was included in the model. When stratified by sex, the multivariate Cox models indicated significant role of AR in OS of female patients but not in males. AR-associated genes were identified and enrichment analysis revealed shared and distinct gene network in male and female patients. Furthermore, AR was found significantly associated with OS in RAS mutant subtypes of melanoma but not in BRAF, NF1, or triple-wild type subtypes of melanoma. Our study may provide insight into the well-known female survival advantage in melanoma patients.

When does a female leadership advantage exist? Evidence from SOEs in China

AbstractResearch Question/IssueWe approach the ongoing debate in the literature on when and why a female leadership advantage exists in the context of China. In particular, we examine whether female CEOs outperform male CEOs in state‐owned enterprises (SOEs).Research Findings/InsightsWe show that a female leadership advantage exists in SOEs. We find that the female leadership increased performance is attributed to improved profitability, capital structure, and operating efficiency. The magnitude of this gender effect is bigger in central state‐owned enterprises (CSOEs) than that in local state‐owned enterprises (LSOEs). The results are robust to additional tests that mitigate the sample selection and other endogeneity concerns.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsWe use the role congruity theory to motivate and develop the hypotheses drawing insights upon the literature in psychology and leadership. Female CEOs are perceived as less congruent with their leadership roles given the gender role stereotypes. Thus, they face more challenges and difficulties than male CEOs. These obstacles take at least two forms which are significant in SOEs: shareholder activism and sex discrimination. Female CEOs have to outperform their male counterparts to alleviate the pressure from shareholder activism and showcase their managerial skills and abilities.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsFor the state shareholders, the extra scrutiny in selecting female CEOs should be lifted given this outperformance. The evidence is also relevant for CEOs to choose their career paths among different types of firms, for boards of directors on their strategic decisions on CEO hiring, and for policy makers to promote the female leadership advantage.

The role of genetics and epigenetics in sex differences in human survival

Sex differences in human survival have been extensively investigated in many studies that have in part uncovered the biological determinants that promote a longer life in females with respect to males. Moreover, researches performed in the past years have prompted increased awareness about the biological effects of environmental factors that can modulate the magnitude of the sex gap in survival. Besides the genetic background, epigenetic modifications like DNA methylation, that can modulate cell function, have been particularly studied in this framework. In this review, we aim to summarize the role of the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms in promoting female advantage from the early in life (“INNATE” features), and in influencing the magnitude of the gap in sex differences in survival and ageing (“VARIABLE” features). After briefly discussing the biological bases of sex determination in humans, we will provide much evidence showing that (i) “innate” mechanisms common to all males and to all females (both genetic and epigenetic) play a major role in sex differences in lifespan; (ii) “variable” genetic and epigenetic patterns, that vary according to context, populations and exposures to different environments, can affect the magnitude of the gap in sex differences in survival. Then we will describe recent findings in the use of epigenetic clocks to uncover sex differences in biological age and thus potentially in mortality. In conclusion, we will discuss how environmental factors cannot be kept apart from the biological factors providing evidence from the field of human ecology.

Potentiated respiratory metaboreflex in older males and females: afferent or efferent mechanisms?

Potentiated respiratory metaboreflex in older males and females: afferent or efferent mechanisms?

An auditory processing advantage enables communication in less complex social settings: Signs of an extreme female brain in children and adolescents being assessed for Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The underlying factors of the male predominance in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are largely unknown, although a female advantage in social communication has been pointed out as a potential factor. Recently, attention has been given to ASD as a sensory processing disorder, focusing on the audio-visual temporal processing paramount for the development of communication. In ASD, a deviant audio-visual processing has been noted, resulting in difficulties interpreting multisensory information. Typically Developed (TD) females have shown an enhanced language processing in unisensory situations compared to multisensory situations. We aim to find out whether such an advantage also can be seen in girls within the ASD population, and if so, is it related to social communication skills? Forty children (IQ > 85), 20 females (mean age = 13.90 years, SD = 2.34) and 20 males (mean age = 12.15 years, SD = 2.83) triaged for an ASD assessment were recruited from a child and youth psychiatric clinic in Sweden. Using The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) we looked at associations with child performance on the Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA-2). An auditory advantage in the female group was associated with less rated problems in social communications in unisensory processing whereas in multisensory processing an auditory dominance was associated with more rated problems in Social Awareness. In the male group, a visual dominance was associated with more rated problems in Social Rigidity. A female unisensory processing advantage in ASD could very well be explaining the male domination in ASD. However, the social difficulties related to multisensory processing indicate that ASD females might be struggling as hard as males in more complex settings. Implications on the assessment procedure are discussed.

Impacts of sibling and gender on supplementary education opportunities in China

Supplementary education, which is different from the formal education system, is more likely to reflect the other form of inequality in educational opportunities through the process of education. In China, supplementary education is generally divided into two sorts: academic-oriented classes and hobby-oriented classes. Using the dataset of China Family Panel Studies 2018 and analysing with the Logit Regression models (LR), this study analyses how gender and sibling structure impact the students’ supplementary education participation opportunities. Applying the “resource dilution theory” and “budget constraint theory” in Chinese modern families, siblings might have a competitive relationship with each other in obtaining limited family resources, while parents would assess the lifetime cost of raising a child when deciding the investment in supplementary education. According to the results, an increase in sibling numbers and density dilutes the family resources of supplementary education for each child on average. Females have more opportunities to participate in supplementary education than males, especially in hobby-oriented supplementary education. The “female advantage” is significant in the supplementary education opportunity of the first-born child and the “gender minority” child. This study claims that the family allocation of supplementary educational resources is influenced by economic motives. This study supports both the “resource dilution theory” and the “budget constraint theory” in supplementary education in contemporary China, while the issues of gender inequality regarding family resources allocation seem still remain.

Girls Are Better Students but Boys Will Be More Successful at Work: Discordance Between Academic and Career Gender Stereotypes in Middle Childhood.

Despite findings of female advantages at school, men still are higher achieving in the workplace. Only a small amount of research has simultaneously investigated stereotypes of these different domains. We investigated whether stereotypes about academic female superiority and paradoxical stereotypes about workplace male superiority coexist. Participants were 1144 Grades 1-6 students (Mage = 9.66) from Hong Kong. They completed measures of academic gender stereotypes and meta-stereotypes, career gender stereotypes, career-related motivation for school excellence, and school engagement. Teachers provided school exam scores. We examined (1) gender and age differences, (2) the relationship between the stereotypes, and (3) the moderating role of these stereotypes in gender differences in school engagement, exam scores, and career-related motivation. Both boys and girls perceived girls as better students but a belief in female superiority did not translate to the career domain. Although both boys and girls beginning primary school believed their gender was superior in both domains, those at the end of primary school believed that girls do better at school while men are more successful at work. Also, at the end of primary school, these two stereotypes were more discordant on the individual level, i.e., the tendency for children who believed that girls perform better at school to also believe that women perform better at work was weaker in older children. Academic gender stereotypes moderated gender differences in school engagement and exam scores. Understanding why children hold discordant beliefs about success in different arenas and combating both academic and career stereotypes early may help improve gender equality for both genders.

Mental rotation, episodic memory, and executive control: Possible effects of biological sex and oral contraceptive use

Oral contraceptives (OCs) are one of the most common forms of hormonal birth control. A small literature suggests that OC use may affect visuospatial ability, episodic memory, and executive control. However, previous studies have been criticized for small sample sizes and the use of different, single cognitive tests. We investigated the degree to which biological sex and OC use might affect individual mental rotation, episodic memory, and executive control in a large sample of healthy, young adults (N = 155, including 52 OC users, 53 naturally cycling females, and 50 males) tested individually over videoconference. To measure cognition, we used a set of neuropsychological tasks inspired by Glisky and colleagues’ two-factor episodic memory and executive control battery, from which two composite scores (based on principal component analysis) were derived for each participant. Our pre-registered analysis revealed a clear female advantage in episodic memory, independent of OC use. In an exploratory analysis, gist memory was elevated in OC users. Interestingly, we found no significant sex-related differences nor effects of OC use on mental rotation or executive control. Duration of OC use was also not related to any of our cognitive measures. These results suggest that the use of combined, monophasic OCs does not lead to many significant changes in cognition in young adults, although young females overall may have better episodic memory than young males. Additional studies, including longitudinal designs and looking in more detail at the menstrual cycle and OC use history, will further clarify the effects of different types of OCs and their duration of use on different aspects of cognition.

Gender differences in the serial position among older adults

ABSTRACT Introduction There are gender disparities in age of diagnosis with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia, which may be related to general female advantages in verbal memory across aging. Further examination of the serial position effect (SPE) may provide an avenue for earlier diagnosis of MCI/dementia among women. Method 338 cognitively healthy adults aged 50+ (110 men; 228 women) were administered the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) List Learning task as part of dementia screening. We examined whether the SPE could be demonstrated on Trial 1 and delayed recall, and whether SPE patterns were consistent across genders, using mixed measure ANOVAs. Using regression, we also examined whether gender, SPE components, or their interactions predicted RBANS Delayed Memory Index (DMI) performance. Using cluster analyses, we identified a group with reduced primacy relative to recency on Trial 1 and a group without. We used ANOVA to examine whether clusters differed in DMI scores and whether this was moderated by gender. Results We demonstrated the prototypical SPE on Trial 1. On delayed recall, we found reduced recency compared to primacy and middle performance. As expected, men exhibited worse performance on the DMI. However, gender did not interact with SPE. Primacy and middle, but not recency, performance on Trial 1 predicted DMI scores, as did the recency ratio. These relationships were not moderated by gender. Finally, participants with better primacy than recency on Trial 1 (N = 187) exhibited higher performance on DMI than participants with better recency than primacy (N = 151). Gender did not interact with cluster membership. Conclusion Our results have important clinical implications in assessment, where focusing on Trial 1 primacy performance and loss of recency between Trial 1 and delayed recall may help to address gender-related delays in age of diagnosis of MCI or dementia.