In terrible times, there’s an advantage to being female

Women outlive men in normal times, as well as during the worst of circumstances, three centuries of historical records show.

There is an advantage
 in being female.

Most of the life expectancy gap was due to a female survival advantage in infancy rather than adulthood, the researchers found. In times of adversity, such as famines and epidemics, newborn girls are more likely to survive.

The fact that women have an edge in infancy when behavioural differences between the sexes are minimal, supports the idea that the explanation is at least partly biological, the researchers say.

Read the Futurity story by Robin Smith-Duke - “In terrible times, there’s an advantage to being female.”