From bridge to chess, why men outperform women at ‘mindsports’ – and what to do about it

By Samantha Punch, Professor of Sociology, University of Stirling

Why do men strongly outperform women at “mindsports” such as chess and bridge? Mindsports mainly use the brain and require skills such as memory, critical thinking, problem solving, strategic planning, mental discipline and judgment. Without physical differences in strength, how do we explain why the top level of such games tends to be dominated by men?

A defining characteristic of bridge, which I study, is that it is always played…

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