'Men smarter than women'

London - Men on average have a higher IQ than women, according to a forthcoming British study that reignites the perennial battle of the sexes.

In a paper to appear in the British Journal of Psychology in November, Paul Irwing and Richard Lynn said men's IQs are on average five points higher than those of women.

This, the two professors argue, is why men - who also have larger brains - are more likely to win Nobel prizes and other major academic distinctions.

Looked at from a population perspective, it meant there were three men to each woman with an IQ above 130, and 5.5 men for each woman with an IQ above 145.

"These different proportions of men and women with high IQ scores are clearly worth speaking of," Irwing told the Times Higher Education Supplement in a preview of their research.

"It may go some way to explaining the greater numbers of men achieving distinctions of various kinds for which a high IQ is required."

'Women are able to achieve more...'

The study was based on IQ tests on a first sample of 80 000 people, followed by a second - comprised of students only - of 20 000.

Irwing and Lynn acknowledge that women outnumber men at every level of educational achievement, with the sole exception of PhD level.

They also conclude that the IQ difference cannot on its own explain gender inequalities in the workplace, where men still greatly outnumber women at the highest ranks of management.

The study says there is evidence that at the same IQ level, women are able to achieve more than men "possibly because they are more conscientious and better adapted to sustained periods of hard work".

A previous study found that IQs of about 125 were enough to allow access to all levels in the labour market.

"The small male advantage in IQ is therefore likely to be of most significance for tasks of high complexity, such as complex problem solving in mathematics, engineering and physics, and in other areas of high spatial ability," Irwing said.