Men, Women, And Scrabble

Is everything these days based on true equality? Not necessarily; and, as the statistics show, certainly not when it comes to the subject of Scrabble. While for decades there have been many more female scrabble-players than males in general, and also in the arena of Scrabble clubs and tournaments, men tend to actually win at Scrabble much more frequently than women.

Currently, of the fifty top-ranked Scrabble players in North America, only one spot is held by a woman-- Marlene Milkent, who is ranked in fortieth place. Although her career has spanned more than eight years so far, she has earned less than two thousand dollars for her efforts. Only one woman has ever won the national championships, and that win was nearly twenty years ago. Considering how many more women are active in playing Scrabble, these odds may be surprising.

What accounts for the discrepancies in these statistics-- why men are more likely to win, despite the fact that more women have been playing Scrabble longer? There are a number of theories about this; and all seem to have an equal amount of validity. One of the theories is that women, rather than men, are likely to be in charge of running their homes and caring for their children. Placing this factor as a higher priority than Scrabble competition gives women a decided disadvantage when it comes to winning Scrabble tournaments and championships.

Another relevant factor is that men are more likely than women to be "math-inclined." While this does not necessarily mean that men are better at math, the male drive for it is said to be stronger. This assists men in doing better at keeping the game scores, and to have a more natural ability to understand the spacial relationships which are important in the game of Scrabble. It also connects to the natural inclination for strategy.

Men are also generally more competitive than women. The competitive drive often results in more competitive playing and, therefore, winning. The stronger the desire to win, the better one will play. This factor also includes the willingness to put in as much time and as much effort as it takes to improve one's skills and get as close to perfection as possible. The natural need to achieve results in a much better chance at winning.

Despite the large percentage of Scrabble players being women, these factors do add up to reasons why it is usually the men who come out on top in Scrabble rankings. Women usually do better at Scrabble when playing it with the children; but when it's time for serious competition, the highest scores almost always are won by the men.