A widely held belief that women have more emotional intelligence than men does not hold up under scrutiny, according to a large study of research spanning three decades.
The analysis combined 1,279 academic papers and data from 609,278 people in 76 countries. It found that women score higher, on average, at recognising and understanding emotions. But when it comes to regulating emotions, the picture shifts: men and boys tend to score higher on tasks that involve managing their own feelings, while women score higher on tasks that involve managing other people’s.
The results also depend on how emotional intelligence is measured. Women’s advantage is larger on performance-based tests, where people complete tasks that are scored for accuracy. It is smaller on self-report surveys, where people rate their own ability.
The study was led by Dr Mary Hausfeld of the University of Limerick, with Vera Hampel and Leon Bach of the University of Zurich, and Jochen Menges, a professor of leadership at Cambridge Judge Business School and the University of Zurich. It is published in the journal Emotion.
“Women are emotionally intelligent. Men think they are,” said Menges. “On performance-based tests, women’s advantage is substantial. On self-reports, it almost disappears. Self-perception and demonstrated ability are not the same thing.”
He said the researchers could not determine why the gap exists. “Men may overestimate their abilities, women may underestimate theirs, or both may be happening. Either way, confidence and competence are not the same, and organisations should not confuse them.”
Four separate skills
The researchers say that emotional intelligence should not be treated as one quality. They split it into recognition, understanding and regulation of emotions: in oneself and in others.
“Common assumptions about women and men’s emotional abilities are often too broad,” said Hausfeld. “The evidence points to a picture in which differences depend on the skill being examined and the context in which it is measured.”
“Women show an advantage in recognising and understanding emotions, and in regulating other people’s emotions,” said Menges. “For managing their own emotions, the pattern reverses slightly, and men score higher. That matters, because being expected to manage other people’s feelings is not the same as being better equipped to manage your own.”
A narrowing gap
Because the data covers nearly 30 years, the researchers were able to track change over time. They found that gender differences in overall emotional intelligence have narrowed in recent years, a shift most pronounced among children.
“That pattern is consistent with changing socialisation and gender norms, but it doesn’t establish the cause,” said Menges. “Age, generation and time period cannot be separated in this data, and biological explanations cannot be ruled out.”
Why it matters at work
High emotional intelligence has been linked to job performance and stress management, and to relationships at work through communication and conflict management, according to studies included in the analysis.
The researchers say the assumption that women have greater emotional intelligence — repeated in business publications — carries risk if left unexamined. Treating it as settled fact, they say, can lead employers to hand women a disproportionate share of emotional labour at work.
“Persistent assumptions that women naturally possess greater emotional intelligence create two risks,” Menges said. “Real differences may be dismissed as unscientific. At the same time, broad claims can reinforce stereotypes and push emotional work onto women.”
The study also found gender differences in emotion recognition were larger among leaders than non-leaders, and — against the researchers’ expectations — smaller in male-dominated industries than in other sectors. Differences were largest in North and Central America and Europe compared with the rest of the world.
Advice for managers
The researchers say small differences should not be dismissed as unimportant, since they can accumulate through everyday decisions and produce gaps in outcomes such as promotion.
Menges said organisations should stop treating emotional intelligence as a feminine trait. “Treat it as a set of skills. Use validated performance-based measures where they exist, rather than relying on self-reports. Develop these abilities in everyone, and don’t let emotional work aimed at others become women’s responsibility by default.”
The researchers conclude that asking whether women or men have more emotional intelligence is ‘too simple’. “The better questions are: which ability, measured how, directed at whom, in what context?” said Menges. “That’s the direction the science is taking, and I’d advise organisations to do the same.”
