Women score higher than men in IQ tests

Women are scoring higher than men in IQ tests as - it is claimed - modern life makes us more intelligent

Women are outperforming men in IQ tests for the first time since records began

In the past 100 years women have lagged behind men by five points, but it appears the gap has closed.

James Flynn, an expert in IQ testing, has published the results, claims this is because the demands of the modern age have raised intelligence standards.

He says: 'In the last 100 years the IQ scores of both men and women have risen, but women’s have risen faster.

'This is a consequence of modernity. The complexity of the modern world is making our brains adapt and raising our IQ.'

It is believed that women have always had the potential to do better but are only just now realising it after juggling family life with building a career.

Flynn also says: 'The brains of modern people are growing differently and showing increased cognitive complexity which we measure as increases in IQ.

'This improvement is more marked for women than for men because they were disadvantaged in the past.'

He does believe, however, that more data is needed to completely explain the trend.

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