US researchers at the University of Pennsylvania scanned the brains of nearly 1,000 men, women, boys and girls and found striking differences, reports the BBC.
The “connectome maps” reveal the differences between the male brain (seen in blue) and the female brain (orange)
Male brains are wired front to back, with few connections bridging the two hemispheres. In females, the connections criss-cross between left and right.
These differences might explain why men, in general, tend to be better at learning and performing a single task, like cycling or navigating, whereas women are more equipped for multitasking, say the researchers in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The same volunteers were asked to perform a series of cognitive tests, and the results appeared to support this notion.
Women scored well on attention, word and face memory, and social cognition. Men performed better on spatial processing and sensori-motor speed.
Researcher Dr Ruben Gur said: “It’s quite striking how complementary the brains of women and men really are.
“Detailed connectome maps of the brain will not only help us better understand the differences between how men and women think, but it will also give us more insight into the roots of neurological disorders, which are often sex related.”
On the same day, under a headline ‘Britain ravaged by sexism: women know your place!’ the Daily Telegraph reported that nearly four in 10 Brits believe women should not work in a range of jobs including soldier, pilot, mechanic or surgeon, suggesting sexism is still “prevalent” in the workplace.
Some 40 per cent of the UK population also believe men should not do jobs such as midwife, nurse, nanny or beautician, the study of 2,026 adults found.
Among the least trusted professionals are male nannies, female electricians, male primary school teachers and female bus drivers, the study by WorldPay Zinc, a payment processing firm, revealed.
Geraldine Wilson, managing director of WorldPay Zinc, said: “People in Britain are prone to stereotyping men and women based on their gender. Strong opinions on which jobs are for men and which are for women still exist, as do beliefs that men are better in stereotypically masculine roles such as plumber and electrician, whilst women make better nurses and florists. Both sexes are still being held back from pursuing occupations that might not be seen as suitable for their gender.”
Throughout the survey men “expressed more dated opinions and attitudes than women”, voicing a lack of trust in both men and women doing jobs not historically associated with their gender. Only 56 per cent of men believe that women should be free to do any job they like. Similarly, only 52 per cent of men think that men should be able to become beauticians, nannies or midwives.
In the Bible, men did the heavy lifting and the fighting while midwives were female and women cared for all children until boys left the care of their mother and began to learn their father’s business at the age of 12 or 13. The girls stayed under their mother’s care but under their father’s authority.
In addition, God gave leadership roles to men:
Exod 18:21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
And the Prophet Isaiah condemned a society in which men had relinquished their leadership roles:
Isaiah 3:12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
So perhaps the minority who would restrict jobs according to sex are driven, not by sexism and dated opinions, but by scriptural truth and up-to-date science.
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Thanks for this, Steve. Useful to know.
It may well be stereotyping – I’m a bloke and I can multi-task .. however I believe, taking the above into account, that the more we push ahead with all this equality business it could lead to continuing resentment against women by men (crimes, serious sexual offences) to say nothing of increasing male despair as our society goes more and more feministic: a report by Surrey Samaritans published four years ago speaks of unemployed, middle-aged single males feeling they have nothing to live for (having not lived up to their natural roles as husbands and breadwinners) and thus taking their own lives.
Thank you Steven
I have been wrestling with this issue and you have just scripturally nailed it for me.
How lovely to walk in our God given differences and see how we complement each other.
You shall KNOW the truth and the truth shall set you free.
I was a fireman for 30 years. During my service I was over 6ft tall and over 15 stones.
Add to that a breathing apparatus set weighing about 1.5 stone and cumbersome.
A breathing apparatus team consists of two people, one to look after the other.
I never saw a woman that could carry me down a ladder, drag me upstairs or drag me around obstacles.
I never met a firewoman that I could not rescue under any circumstances.
Why the hell should my family have to risk my loss because of some PC leftie.
I feel that if the study is valid and useful, which at least one serious newspaper has thrown into doubt, there must be more to it than this. For example, it would follow that men were best at using the washing machine, a single task. Women must be better at cycling AND navigating at the same time, which is multitasking. This gives them a huge advantage, because it is no use being good at cycling if you end up in the wrong place. But men don’t seem to be good at using washing machines at all, despite the technical challenge of them.
I don’t think that being a bus-driver or an electrician counts as being a “ruler”. You aren’t going to find much guidance on who should do these jobs in the Old Testament. Were scribes always male ? Does this mean that only men should work computers, or be secretaries ? Some of the readers of Christian Voice are literate women with computers.
This is SO interesting.
Amen! God created mankind male and female so the differences compliment each other, just as the article said.
However, holding to scriptural principles doesn’t necessarily mean that we should impose rigid rules as to the precise implementation of those principles. Not all male nurses are effeminate for example; and some women happen to be good at tasks that have been traditionally assigned to men.
I think the key word is “Tradition.” Are we really going by what the Bible says on the subject, or are we using mere human tradition as an excuse for legalistic restrictions that the Lord never intended to impose on us? Or, at the other extreme, are we using these “Exceptions to the rule” as an excuse for casting off all restraint and rebelling against the God-given created differences between the sexes?
However, there are Biblical examples of valid “exceptions”, especially when it came to spiritual authority. Deborah, the only female judge, was the leader, under God, of the nation. Yet she was also a wife (and probably a mother). Hopefully at home she had the grace to give her husband due deference as head of the household. And there was no way she, as a woman, would march to battle as leader of the army. For that task she called Baruch.
The point made about the role of firemen is relevant. Hormonal differences make a woman’s muscles and bones less strong than those of a man of similar age and degree of fitness. (This is the reason for illegal use of hormone preparations in some branches of sport.).
Sister Jeanette
you have raised an insightful point
Did not Yeshua teach NOT to follow the teachings and traditions of men ?
Sadly this GODLESS and disobedient world does the opposite hence all the confusion and suffering
That ” tradition ” called Xmas will be soon upon is with it’s display of drunken revelry / gluttony / ingratitude and greed
And so it continues
Maranatha , come quickly LORD YESHUA [ though we know prophecy must be fullfilled as the LORD has spoken and face the refining fire first
May OUR LORD bless you and inspire you to show HIS grace , love and mercy to all those around you Amen
In Sainsburys, somebody keeps singing over the loudspeaker system about “Man will live for evermore, because of Christmas Day”. In other words, the coming of Jesus Christ makes possible eternal life. Is that a godless Xmas tradition, or a useful spiritual by-product of it ? There doesn’t seem to be any of this in Tescos.
Somebody of your thoroughness, Robin, with the intellectual ability to comprehend and absorb the original material, would be well-advised to go to the original report. Scientists, and professors of philosophy, have been complaining about how it has been misreported by journalists. (This is not a criticism of Stephen, who no doubt took his version from journalists in good faith). Those who actually did this study concluded that it provided “strong evidence for behavioural similarities between the sexes” !
Insofar as there are differences visible, this doesn’t prove that they were inherent. Our society brings up male and female people, even babies, differently. If we accept that a difference in brains and personalities can be seen by seeing a difference in “wiring”, you will indeed see a difference in the wiring of men and women almost ipso facto, but this doesn’t prove that they didn’t all start with a tabula rasa, as it were.