Artwork by Mike Magnan
GENDER GAP’S DUE TO MORE GUYS THAN GALS
By ANDY SOLTIS
February 11, 2007 — Chess AN article in the current issue of Psychological Science tackles the mystery of the vast disproportion between male and female masters – and finds the reason is simply that there’s many more boys who get into chess in the first place.
The authors, Christopher Chabris and Mark Glickman, studied thousands of U.S. Chess Federation players over a 12-year period and found, for example, that women played only 9.7 percent of all rated games in 2004.
Why? Well, one conventional argument holds that young girls drop out of chess more quickly or more often than boys.
But when ability is factored out, the dropout rates are comparable, the article found. Girls and boys who are equally good at chess are just as likely to leave the game.
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But when ability is factored out, the dropout rates are comparable, the article found. Girls and boys who are equally good at chess are just as likely to leave the game.
But how can you factor out the ability? Most likely that is the explanation, bar special exceptions like you and the few outstanding female chess players.
This morning I wrote a far longer post about this subject, but at the end I decided not to save it, for being too controversial.
Gabor
Also of note is that the unadjusted skill differences dissapear if gender balance is achieved. This proves that achieving gender balance in chess would maximize the total contribution to the game, in addition to increasing the number of players. Also that could increase the general interest, and thereby the sponsoship value.
If gender balance was achieved, that would remove 90% of the cultural bias against chess.