Scientists Have Debunked Most Of The Differences Between Men And Women

The two genders have more in common than we thought.

Scientists have found that most research papers claiming gender differences do not, in fact, provide sound evidence: in many of them, men and women were simply not compared directly. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The researchers analyzed 200 articles from 2019–2023 whose titles or conclusions mentioned a gender-dependent effect. It turned out that fewer than a quarter of them included a proper statistical comparison of the sexes, while more than half lacked such a comparison entirely, despite their bold claims.

The situation was worst in neuroscience, where only 18% of studies reported proper statistics, whereas in psychology the figure was higher—about 39%. At the same time, flawed methodology did not prevent the papers from being published in prestigious journals nor did it reduce their citation rates.

A typical error identified by the authors was dividing the sample into subgroups by gender and analyzing them separately instead of making a direct comparison. This approach reduces statistical power and can “find” differences where none exist. It is telling that only two of the 200 papers were registered in advance—that is, conclusions were most often drawn as data analysis progressed.

The number of claims about “gender differences” in neuroscience has increased more than fivefold over the past two decades, and to help scientists verify such claims, the team created a special online tool. The authors emphasize: the point is not that there are no differences between the sexes, but that they must be properly demonstrated. Otherwise, the scientists warn, imaginary differences will become entrenched in science and medicine, which could influence diagnosis and treatment.

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