SCRABBLE - A GLASS CEILING?

“GHOSTIER”

“PUGGAREES”

These were the words used by the 2019 World Scrabble Champion, Nigel Richards from New Zealand, on his way to his second consecutive victory. None of the top 8 finishers were women., despite it being open to all. This was not a one-off result; since the championship series began in 1991, all the winners have been men.

Many gender inequalities have deep roots in our society and culture. For e.g. men typically don’t pursue nursing to the same extent as women. Our social stereotyping and stigma undeniably have an impact. But Scrabble presents an even playing field. There are no barriers to entry for women, and the rules of performance are clear; there is not a subjective basis for deciding the winner. So why then do we see these lopsided results?

According to research done in 2017 [1], there is in fact no discrimination or societal inequality at play here. It is quite simply due to the fundamental difference between the interests of men and women and what they choose to pay attention to.

The researchers surveyed Scrabble players on how they studied for the game. They found men and women studied equal amounts of time. However, in answer to a follow-up question, the majority of men indicated they enjoyed solitary practice, while most women preferred the opposite. When the researchers adjusted Scrabble performance based on the preferred approach to study (solitary or social), the gender differences disappeared.

So, if we wanted to reduce inequality in Scrabble, the answer is not to look for some underlying discrimination or any difference between the linguistic aptitude of men and women. It is simply about educating women competitors on the right study technique and the gender skew will correct itself.

[1. Moxley, J., Ericsson, A., & Tuffiash, M. (2017). Gender differences in SCRABBLE performance and associated engagement in purposeful practice activities.]

[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pop-psych/201709/no-sexism-in-scrabble]