Mysterious, intelligent, and intriguing – women are truly amazing! They’ve changed the course of history in many ways, leaving their mark through bravery, activism, inventions, science, poetry, literature, and so much more.
From raising children to being loyal friends, companions, and the life of the party, women have long and rightfully requested they be treated equally to men in all walks of life. And, given how hard women work (and how positively they’ve changed the world), who can blame them?
In that regard, we’ve prepared some pretty interesting facts about women that might just surprise you…and make you appreciate them even more! Take a look through the following facts and compare them to what you already know about men, too!
In the interest of clarity, when referring to ‘women’ in this article, we are referring to people designated female at birth, unless noted otherwise.
1. Research shows that, yes, women are smarter than men – when it comes to emotions.
The battle between the sexes on ‘who’s more clever’ has been waging on for years. Studies in the UK do show that girls tend to perform better than boys at school in general, but it’s worth noting that this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re smarter overall!
However, various studies suggest that biological women are smarter than biological men when it comes to emotional intelligence. That means they are often more receptive to perceive other people’s emotions, showing empathy, and feeling deeply. That said, context and situations are key, and individual people will vary!
2. Women’s brains tend to be smaller than men’s.
Research suggests that male brains are approximately 9% bigger than females’, but they both have the same quantity of cells, only the cell density is different. In the female brain, cells are packed more densely.
Again, this isn’t an indicator of intelligence (and it never will be)! In fact, smaller brains make sense when biological women are generally smaller than men in most other ways, too. It just makes sense.
3. Women have had to improvise menstruation aids for centuries.
While more women than ever have access to healthy menstruation products in the modern age, this hasn’t always been the case. Going back centuries, women had to use papyrus, lint-wrapped wood, and general paper to help soak menstrual bleeding.
It wasn’t until the 19th century that the concept of a ‘sanitary belt’ was even considered, and tampons weren’t marketed by Tampax until the Second World War.
That said, it’s estimated more than 500 million women around the world still lack access to healthy menstrual products and safe spaces, marking a continuing era of period poverty.
4. Women have been doctors for millennia.
The gender gap between men and women in the NHS, at least in terms of roles, seems to be closing. Interestingly, before we get into those figures, the idea of female doctors is absolutely nothing new. The initial known female physician lived in ancient Egypt around 2700 B.C.
In the UK, at the time of writing, there are more than 200,000 medical practitioners who identify as male, and around 190,000 who identify as female. Interestingly, there are now more female GPs (general practitioners) than there are male, with 45,000 identifying as women and almost 35,000 identifying as men.
5. Childbirth can be fatal.
Although it’s assumed that it’s never been safer for women to give birth given modern medicine and evolving technology and aftercare, some statistics show that a woman will die during pregnancy or childbirth every two minutes, meaning some 800 mothers die every single day.
That said, data seems to show childbirth deaths are decreasing globally, at least from 2020 compared to 2016. It’s thought that countries with the lowest overall income, such as South Sudan and Yemen, have higher maternal mortality rates than any other.
Worryingly, maternal death rates appear to be rising in the UK, though recent statistics may take into account deaths related to COVID-19.
6. High heels used to be a male wardrobe feature.
Believe it or not, men would initially wear high heels to show off status and masculinity! However, by the 17th century, women began to wear heels as well! That said, these shoes have been around since ancient times, with Persian men having bucked the trend.
By the 19th century, it’s thought that women had adopted the high heel almost unanimously – and that, believe it or not, they were no longer a class symbol! Studies and collections show that women from all backgrounds enjoy wearing high heels, and that this has been the case for centuries – even if they’re not so comfortable!
7. Makeup used to be seen as sorcery.
In the British Parliament, a 1770 bill suggested that any woman wearing make-up should be punished for witchcraft!
Thankfully, we live in more enlightened times (at least in this regard). Not only is make-up no longer a gender-exclusive product, the beauty and personal care industry in the UK is growing by around 2.69% per year leading up to 2029. Who’s worried about witchcraft now?
8. Mother Earth has a name.
We regularly hear references to ‘Mother Earth’ here and there, but she does have a legitimate name that is referred to across ancient Greek mythology. Her name is Gaia, and she is one of the first gods born after the arrival of Chaos.
It’s said Gaia gave birth to the mountains, the sea, and the sky, all without a male god. She is also said to have helped to overthrow the god Cronus, and was regarded by many as the protector of Earth and the giver of dreams.
9. It’s possible to have twice the female organs.
Uterus didelphys is a rare condition when some women are born with two uteruses. Women with this condition sometimes have two vaginas, too. It’s rare enough in the UK to only affect around one in every thousand women, though it is still regarded as an important medical concern.
Oddly, the condition is usually found and diagnosed during pregnancy ultrasound scans – it’s not typical for women to notice that they have this condition!
10. Sexual pleasure gets better for women as they get older.
Women aged 40+ tend to have much stronger orgasms than they did when they were younger – which is said to be because the clitoris continues to grow as women age.
However, only three in ten women in the UK claim that they have an orgasm every time they have sex. Around one in ten claim that they have multiple orgasms, and it’s thought that heterosexual women have fewer orgasms than homosexual and bisexual women on average!
11. Illegitimate childbirth was seen as a major social stigma on both sides of the Atlantic.
In early America, unwed mothers often killed their newborn babies in order to avoid the shame that came with mothering an illegitimate child.
This stigma was common in the UK centuries ago, too, as the idea of marriage was put on a pedestal to try and solidify the idea that married couples kept families together.
However, being a single mum is no longer considered a stigma – mainly because it is not only completely unfair, but also because there are many different contexts and situations that could give rise to illegitimate children. It’s thought that there are more than 2.7 million single-mum families in the UK, accounting for 85% of all families with one parent present.
12. One woman has men beat when it comes to mountaineering.
A woman has climbed Mount Everest seven times, more than any other woman on earth, in the last 16 years. That woman is Lhakpa Sherpa, from Nepal, who was also the very first nepali woman to climb Everest all the way back in 2000.
In 2016, she even broke her own record on her seventh attempt, at the age of 42! Your turn, guys!
13. More mothers work now than ever before.
The idea that women should stay home and raise children is, again, a dying concept – and with good reason. It’s thought that more than three-quarters of all British women with dependent children are in the workforce, and almost half of all British women with a child less than one year old are in full time employment.
There are many reasons for this, and not just the fact that times are changing. Economic issues in the UK have, unfortunately, forced many families to consider whether or not they can afford to stay home and care for children full time – it’s something of a luxury for most people!
14. Not all daredevils are men – as this barrel lover proved!
The first person ever to ride over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel and survive was a 63-year-old female schoolteacher, Annie Edson Taylor.
Edson Taylor was a fascinating character, having decided to sail down the waterfalls in a custom-made barrel – something that, as you might imagine, was pretty death-defying (and still is)!
Sadly, despite wanting to make money from her exploits over the falls, Edson Taylor died a pauper, with her funeral paid for by donations. And yet, what a great legacy she left!
15. There are women who live as men for societal reasons.
Albanian women known as ‘burneshas’ live high up in communities in the mountains to escape certain social constraints. In fact, they live as men – cutting their hair short, wearing different clothing, and spend years learning male mannerisms. Many will even change their birth names, and choose to be celibate.
Of course, many people born as biological women transition into men, other genders, or as non-binary, for non-societal reasons. Approximately 48,000 people in England and Wales identify as transgender men.
16. William Acton was very, very wrong.
Englishman Sir William Acton, a 19th-century doctor considered a leading author on masturbation, believed that most women didn’t have sexual feelings!
He couldn’t have been further wrong – around 80% of women in the UK consider themselves sexually active! That’s in today’s numbers – there’s no such record from Acton’s time, but let’s imagine he was completely off the boil then, too!
17. The gender pay gap remains a major issue in the UK.
Despite there having been major leaps for gender equality over the decades, there is still a major issue of women being paid less on average than men across the UK. In fact, it’s thought that there’s an overall 13% gap between men and women, meaning men get paid 13% more than women, per hour, on average.
The percentage just focusing on full-time employees is slightly lower, however, full-time female workers get paid 7% less every hour than men. Regardless, this is still an issue that continues to concern millions.
18. Word choices between women were once considered risque.
In the 19th century, many women of a certain sophistication didn’t want to say words such as ‘leg’ as it was considered promiscuous! Instead, they used the word ‘limb’. No, really!
In the UK now, however, things are a little bit more relaxed. It’s thought that British women use sear or curse words around eight times a day on average! That’s just less than the average for men, around 12 times a day.
19. Some rituals saw women dive into fire.
Sati, or widow burning, quickly emerged in India and Nepal. During this process, married women would choose to burn themselves on the funeral pyres of their husbands to show devotion. It’s thought many women were actually coerced by drugs to take part or were even pushed into it.
20. The Olympics weren’t always fair to women.
The first Olympic Games, the Games of Hera, were held every four years for women who competed in foot racing events, even though women were not allowed to watch.
Thankfully, there’s much more equality in the Games on an international scale. In fact, some of our most celebrated Olympians are women, including those from the UK who have won medals over the years!
Consider the likes of Laura Kenny, Charlotte Dujardin, Kelly Holmes, Rebecca Adlington, and Paula Radcliffe, for example!
21. Mary, Queen of putts!
A few days after her husband’s murder, Mary, Queen of Scots went into public to play golf. She was the first woman to golf in Scotland – and now, it’s a sport commonly played by everyone! In fact, some of the world’s most famous golfers are women – for example, legends such as Mickey Wright, Patty Berg, Nancy Lopez, and Karrie Webb. Laura Davies, too, is arguably England’s most famous female golfer!
22. Maternity leave isn’t mandatory everywhere.
In the UK, women can claim up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, and the first two of these are mandatory! If you work in a factory, you can claim four as mandatory, too.
Interestingly, the USA remains one of the last nations to avoid mandating any kind of parental leave. In contrast, Estonia proposes more than 87 weeks – even more generous than the UK!
23. Women tend to give birth to girls near the equator.
Weirdly enough, the closer a mother lives to the equator, It’s more likely she’ll give birth to a baby girl than a baby boy!
24. Women grow up quicker than men.
Girls’ brains usually mature around two full years before boys’ brains, thanks to the amount of oestrogen they produce during puberty.
That’s why, if women seem more mature than men in lots of ways – it’s based on science! Of course, context is key and everyone differs!
25. A woman struck out baseball’s best.
The first professional female baseball player, Virne Mitchell, struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. She was only 17 at the time – but some people claim that Gehrig and Ruth intentionally struck out. Let’s hope they didn’t!
26. Women work extremely hard.
Women in the UK work an average of eight hours a day, five days a week. That’s on par with men – meaning that, at least when it comes to working hours, there is gender equality!
27. ‘Pin-up’ has wartime connections.
The phrase ‘pin-up girl’ first first popped up during World War II when photos of women were taken and printed specifically so soldiers could pin them up on their walls.
The term has disappeared somewhat in the UK, with ‘glamour model’ often being used for such fashion shoots.
28. MeToo changed everything at the end of the 10s.
The #MeToo movement is a social movement against sexual violence and sexual assault on women.
The movement exposed several powerful and famous men who had reportedly used their positions to abuse women of all ages. Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, for example, was eventually jailed.
29. Female authors have been published for millennia.
Around A.D. 1000, in Japan, a woman published the world’s first novel, called ‘The Tale of Genji’.
What’s more, it’s thought more published authors in the UK are female vs. male, with there being a roughly 60-40 split.
30. Many women are inspiring inventors.
For example, in 1903, Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper.
Over the years, however, more women have patented: one-use nappies, paper bags, non-reflective glass, the foot-pedal bin, the dishwasher, and many other essentials we swear by today!
31. Women have had the right to vote in the UK for decades.
Largely thanks to the famous women’s suffrage movement, British women first gained the right to vote back in 1918, at the end of World War I. That means everyone’s been able to vote above a certain age here for over a century!
The USA soon followed suit, eventually granting voting rights to women in the 1920s.
32. Wonder Woman broke records.
In 2017, Wonder Woman became the very first superhero film featuring a female lead to be directed by a woman. A sequel – Wonder Woman 1984 – followed, but sadly, this was less of a critical and commercial success. Regardless, what a fitting record to set!
33. Misrepresentation is even rife in the Nobels.
Women have only won Nobel Prizes 66 times, as of 2024. That’s across more than a century of prizegiving – surely times have changed!
FAQs About Women
At what age does a girl become a woman?
Technically, modern society views a girl turning 18 to be entering womanhood; however, this may vary from person to person.
Is ‘lady’ an outdated term?
In some ways, ‘lady’ can be used in negative fashions, to differentiate from males in the same profession - many find ‘woman’ to be a more appropriate term.
Are there more inclusive ways to describe women?
Some people choose to use the word ‘womyn’ or ‘womxn’ to differentiate from ‘woman’, thus removing the word ‘man’ from the equation.
Further reading
https://www.globalfundforwomen.org/movements/me-too/
https://www.womenshistory.org/women-olympics
Do you know any fun facts about women? Share them in the comments below!