My husband and I are watching Jeopardy! together often. I’ve noticed that the strongest players are almost always men.
Last week, the show hosted a Masters tournament, and consistent with my observations, four of the six “masters” were men. Interestingly, even one of the masters, Jeopardy!’s “Most Winning Woman” is Amy Schneider, who identifies as transgender. The sixth Masters contestant is Canadian woman Mattea Roach.
Working for the Independent Women’s Voice, I’ve spent much of this spring pushing and promoting legislation in the State Legislature to keep women as a legal category and limit women’s sport to women only. In the world of sports, women are only given an equal chance to compete fairly and safely if they are competing. only to other womenBecause men are more athletic.
This made me think about “Jeopardy!”. and other trivia games: Do men still have an advantage in these games (though less obvious to the observer’s eye)? To be honest, I hate even exploring the idea that men are “smarter” than women…especially since my main antagonist in the armchair, “Jeopardy!” It’s…my husband. And he can’t be smarter than me!
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But I needed to know why men were more successful with Jeopardy!
Of course, there is always the possibility that the game itself is being manipulated. Some critics say the way the questions are written favors men, or at least focuses on them. Sometimes my husband thinks he has an advantage when there is a sports category on the board. In fact, it often happens. Alternatively, some viewers have speculated that the game may have been rigged to help female contestants, or at least extend the run of champions.
So, biased questioning aside, what else could be behind the dominance of men (compared to women) as contestants on the show?
Several academic studies have shown that men bet more aggressively on the Daily Double question, especially against other male contestants. Where gambling is involved, men may have an advantage due to their higher risk tolerance. This affects other areas of life, such as financial investments.
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Some argue that high-risk tolerance in men is not innate. it is socialized. For example, some evidence suggests that parents are more cautious with young girls, often saying “be careful” to fire stations, monkey bars, etc. (In my personal experience, I have not found this to be true. My son lay down If you find yourself in a dangerous situation, you must tell him to be careful. So I think of all my kids and give him the most attention. )
Women’s (relative) risk aversion is not simply learned, and biology may contribute as well. Scientists have studied how brain waves work differently in men’s and women’s brains and influence attitudes to risk. And hormones such as testosterone, which men have seven to eight times higher levels than women, may also play a role in male tolerance to, and even appetite for, greater risks.
But I have yet another hypothesis about “Jeopardy!” This also applies to other fields where there is a gender gap. It deprives about half of women aged 20-40 from regular sleep and leaves them with new mental burdens such as breastfeeding schedules, potty training, and childcare. For several years, these women were, at least temporarily, at a disadvantage with respect to cognitive abilities (particularly gray matter and verbal recall). Verbal recall is especially important in Jeopardy! But importantly, motherhood changes the brain in other ways that are beneficial to both mother and child, and to the future of humanity. Not all bad things!
As we have seen with the gender pay gap, the main factor is motherhood, not sexism. I think her one of the reasons why there are so few women who excel in “Jeopardy!” is the same reason why there are fewer women on average in many fields, from the Capitol to her STEM jobs and more.
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So what is the “solution” for “Jeopardy!”? Women-only leagues (like sports)? Mentorship program? Affirmative action against female contestants? no. We simply need to get used to the lack of gender equality in some areas, not necessarily to reflexively label it as a “bad thing”, nor to say that it is one gender’s bias against other genders. It should not be assumed that any suggestion of advantage is given.
I’m pretty used to gender differences, and I’m very comfortable yelling out answers, in the form of questions, of course, from the couch next to my husband. But maybe one day I’ll audition for that show. Well, when the kids are a little older.
