Women reading more than men is considered axiomatic in the publishing industry where a lot of marketing and publicity dollars are directed towards women. Celebrity book clubs led by women like Oprah and Reese Witherspoon are a way for publishers to sell books, and for readers to determine what books to read. A majority of these readers are women because anecdotally, most book clubs are populated by women with only a minority of men.
The men in my life have been avid readers, and perhaps more into reading than the women. I was born in a place where men tended to be more educated than women. In the Western world where my books are now published though, there exists a greater parity in education and buying capability and I often wonder why men are considered to be reading less than women not just in the US and UK, but also in Germany and the rest of Europe.
Girls are encouraged more to engage in a safer activity like reading, instead of the wide range of sports-related activities for boys. Girls may face less criticism for reading while boys might be told to go out and play. So reading could be an early socialized habit for girls, but not so much for boys and this might continue into adulthood.
Another socialization that’s thankfully receding now is that boys have been encouraged to be more active–become engineers, sportsmen, doctors, whereas women are nudged to be more passive–caregivers, interpreters and so on. This has resulted in generations of men being more active and less empathetic, and women to be more empathetic but lacking in agency. I’m so glad the protagonists/ role-models in fiction are changing now–women no longer need to be rescued or seduced, and men no longer need to win entire wars alone.
Data definitely says there’s a reading gap between girls and boys–girls generally outperform girls in reading in most advanced as well as developing countries.
From a study on this gap by Deloitte Insights:
Most authors I’ve interacted with are childhood readers, and a majority of them saw their parents reading, or read their parents’ collection of books. My reading began with the stacks and shelves of books at home. Some authors had early exposure to libraries. I did hear that most boys took part in other activities like sports and gaming with their fathers, who were their role models.
More insight on this from the Deloitte study:
It is also worth considering though that men don’t feel the need for community the way women do, so we don’t see them reading in a more public fashion. I’ve seen men who read nonfiction, or sci-fi and action thriller tomes simply order books online or pick them up from the airport or a shop in a mall, read them, and buy some more. Other than those in publishing, I haven’t really seen men discuss their reading.
I read mostly fiction, and my husband non-fiction, but we possibly read the same number of books each year. While I’m excitedly nattering on about my reading on my social media (I’m a writer, so I guess that’s natural), my husband has been keeping his books to himself, and maybe a small group of friends. Occasionally, he’ll recommend me a book, but that’s it. (We’re a very subjective and small bit of anecdotal evidence. Situations in other households maybe radically different.)
Women take part in huge reading groups on social media like Facebook, post their reviews on TikTok and Instagram and turn into book influencers. Male book influencers almost seem like an anomaly, because though there are a few big accounts run by men, bookstagrammers and booktokers are overwhelmingly a female domain. Women fill more roles in publishing than men.
This makes me think of reading becoming a social activity for many women, but remaining an exclusively private pastime for most men. I’m not backing this up with data, but having been on reading, writing, and publishing platforms for a while now, I can’t help but wonder.
As an author, of course I wish for more studies on reading behavior . Some women say that women read more, and more fiction because they have more empathy and a desire to understand the other. Men often feel that reading is traditionally seen as a feminine pastime, which makes it less attractive to men. The jury is out there–we need more comprehensive data to figure out if women are indeed reading more than men, and why.
In your experience, do you think women read more than men? Is ‘women reading more than men’ a perception that results from how they read: women preferring reading communities, but not men? As a man or woman do you think your reading experience or preferences have been affected by your gender?
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Hi Damyanti – both my parents read, or used words … crosswords etc – and we had a lot of books at home – so I settled in and read, also at school where we had two libraries (not huge) … one fiction while the other was a more serious room. Many men I guess tend to read magazines about cars, etc … or their professional journals. I now read non-fiction books … I prefer – where I learn, interspersed with blogs, article reading etc … cheers Hilary
Both my parents read, and I think they did in the evening when I was small then – but then other entertainments were restricted. (TV wasn’t big then). By the time they retired both spent a great deal of time reading, but I remember my father commenting once as he threw down the book he was reading, ‘I should have known this was written by a woman!’ Strangely, I read mostly adventure and scifi when I was a teen, maybe it started as I grew out of pony and school books that I picked up my brother’s action/adventure type books. Oh, and James Bond!
These days I notice that I avoid scifi written by men, as I find it too gung-ho and not enough character. I think this is the other side of my dad’s view – too much internalising character motivations from women writers and not enough gung-ho!
When I’m doing craft fairs I try to make sure I ask both men and women passing by ‘what sort of books do you read?’ More women reply than do men, mostly both like thrillers and crime, women will mention more other genres. Men occasionally mention scifi. Lots say they read too much for work, or only read non-fiction. Some say they only read newspapers which I find astonishing (and reflects the views of too many idiots in the current polity).
I used to love family time devoted to reading and just lounging around in each other’s company with our noses buried in books. Somehow, even though we’re all thoroughly invested in our own stories, it still feels as though we’re spending quality time together. Like how it was for you, TV wasn’t prominent then as it is now, so reading was one of our most loved means of entertainment. I enjoyed sci-fi and adventure novels too (and still do now) and I still have Enid Blyton’s Adventure series nestled away in my bookshelf, alongside many of my other childhood favorites. I love that you ask passersby about their reading preferences! That’s such a nice way to find out what the general consensus is or how unique people’s tastes may be. I always enjoy learning more about the types of books that people read — I feel like you can tell so much about someone based on their reading list.
At the risk of being contentious, in the UK, if nowhere else, I suspect one reason women read more is that a significant proportion of the female population have a lot more leisure time than their male counterparts (not to suggest there aren’t many other women who are over-burdened with work as well as domestic responsibilities). I’d be interested to know the male/female breakdown for authors too, as it seems to me there are a lot more female writers (which again, in my limited experience, might in part be explained by the amount of time available).
Historically, women have had less leisure time than men, and this is hard data, not anecdotal.
Here’s the latest: https://www.chronicleonline.com/lifestyle/health/women-have-less-leisure-time-than-men/article_c163d63b-02b0-584d-911f-a135067778c3.html
Women have far less leisure time on hand due to care-giving and familial responsibilities–and this is a worldwide phenomenon.In fact, evidence points to the fact that women now have lesser leisure than women over the years in the UK:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/articles/menenjoyfivehoursmoreleisuretimeperweekthanwomen/2018-01-09
Well, I’m going on experience of the men and women I know and have known, and the communities I’ve lived in, and those statistics just don’t add up. There may be reasons why the statistics are so wrong – studies into responsibilities by gender, for instance, tend concentrate on household chores like cleaning, washing, and ironing, and completely disregard home maintenance and renovation, decorating, landscaping, etc. which are usually the sole preserve of men, and which I know from painful personal experience can swallow up all your leisure time, and eat into your sleeping hours too.
I know couples in which the man works full time (in one case, from 07:30 until 21:00) while the woman hasn’t worked at all since having children (and one of them employs a cleaner to clean their house too!)
I’ll never forget reading a forum about a writing course which guaranteed to refund the course fee if you didn’t earn it back from your writing. The catch, according to respondents, was that they put so much work in your way that no-one would have the time to complete the course. The response from the person who asked the initial question? ‘Well, I’m a stay at home Mom, so time isn’t an issue for me.’
In the past I’ve worked nights and evenings, and been around during the day, and I’ve seen the apparently very relaxed lifestyle of many women caring for children – the hours spent chatting in cafes and parks, while the children play among themselves, or are asleep in a stroller. Caring for children can be a difficult, time-consuming and tiring job, but it can also be an easy option, and I would say the image of the downtrodden mother who never stops is by no means universal. Fortunately now those traditional roles are being blurred, with child care increasingly becoming a shared responsibility – I’m seeing this playing out among the people I know and meet.
I know there are other couples where the man gets an easy ride while the woman does most of the work (I’ve known some of these too, and perhaps some of you who re reading this are among them?). And the picture may vary from community to community, and from country to country. It may be useful to consider class, because my perception is that most writers come from more comfortable backgrounds. Do these have more leisure time because they can afford to employ people to do their cleaning, home maintenance, even washing, for them?
I can’t help but quote the old adage – there are lies, damned lies, and then there are statistics! ;¬]
Great insights Damyanti. Are women more curious than men? Maybe that’s a factor. But I do know many men who read too. 🙂
I think men and women can be equally curious, but the ways they express curiosity can be very different.
I know men who are big readers, but they seem to be in the minority. I know many more women who are big readers.
I don’t know about relative numbers – I expected my readers to be more women than men – but I designed the Pride’s Children trilogy to be equally attractive to male AND female readers, and my favorite reviewers (because they leave meaty and literate reviews) are older men.
Now I just need to figure out how to find the male readers I want more of (and more readers in general) – now I’m spending too much time making the individual appeals to whale readers, which, even with about a 50% read and review rate after I pick them and write to them, are taking up too much of my time, especially as a general strategy.
I have zero energy – I could use some shortcuts.
It’s always nice to know that one’s writing appeals to everyone, regardless of gender. And yes, the meaty reviews are also some of my favorites! Finding readers and appealing to a target audience is a stressful ordeal — as much hard work as writing, editing, and publishing a book undoubtedly is, the promotional aspect is probably the most draining part for me, too. Wishing you all the best and fingers crossed that we both find the shortcuts we’ve been looking for!
As a high school teacher I found this to be true, with one reason being many fiction books cater to romance, something guys weren’t interested in reading. However, sci-fi or adventure, they were much more interested in reading; furthermore, girls would read it also, with or without a romance angle, like Hunger Games or Divergent.
Yes, very few of the men I know have voluntarily picked up a romance novel. Sci-fi and adventure, though — that’s a different story.
I don’t doubt this information but in our book club there are a lot more men than women. Also in professions in, for example, engineering and medicine you have to read a lot, but it is factual books. What has changed for me the last few years is that I read more fiction, more independent authors, more books in other languages than English, and more books by female authors. It is great to expand your mind. But in general, people need to read more of both fiction and non-fiction.
Thank you for sharing, Thomas! This is why I’m so grateful for the comment section — it helps me hear as many different opinions and personal experiences as possible, and it really shows how the answer to any question will vary depending on who you ask. You’re right, reading is such an important part of countless professions, each with a specific genre of its own. It’s incredible to hear all the ways in which you’ve branched out in your reading choices — I think I need to do the same!
Certainly, during childhood but I’d like to see the results of a study on this in adulthood. I know administrators read constantly to keep up with best practice but it’s in line with their trade whether they are men or women. Same with academics.
There are a few studies I’ve seen, but I do feel that more research needs to be done. There’s also the matter of our patterns and behaviors constantly changing with time and the data never remaining stagnant. After all, reading statistics from 20 years ago may be different in comparison to the present, and may change again 20 years from now. In any case, I think it’s hard to come up with a fixed answer.
My nephews don’t read much, but I and my father read a lot.
That’s interesting to hear!
It hasn’t been my experience that women read more than men, probably because I was brought up in a family of readers and went from there to majoring in English and choosing higher education as a career.
Wow, the love of books really runs in the family! I’m lucky enough to say the same, and to have been raised amongst people who encouraged my passion for reading. I think that definitely played a part in my chosen career path, just like it did yours. It’s so lovely to hear how childhood hobbies translate into our adult lives.
Yes, it’s wonderful to have that ongoing connection to childhood.
A very interesting post, Damyanti. Women in my circle have certainly been more inclined to reading compared to the men. But I never gave it so much thought. A lot to chew on here.
Thanks so much, Sonia! I really appreciate it. You’re right, there is a lot to consider when it comes to this topic and it’s hard to decide on a definite conclusion. Reading preferences and patterns can vary so much, depending on the individual, their community, their access to books, and so on.
It really depends on the genre I think.
Thank you for sharing!
As you know, Damyanti, I love fiction…thrillers, murder mysteries, police/detective stories, fantasy, with a few non-fiction or happier novels once in awhile. The difference between my brother and I is addressed in your post: Brother reads a lot of news online and his books tend to be technical or non-fiction. We have given each other bookstore gift cards at Christmas. He would definitely not be in a book club and although I am not either, I recommend books to my friends and have recently done a couple book exchanges with friends. Not sure how much my brother reads, but can share that my own reading habits ebb and flow at times. Right now, I am in the habit of reading before bed rather than watching mindless TV. It helps me stay active.
My genre selection resembles yours very closely! Fiction is undoubtedly a preference of mine, but I’m not opposed to picking up a good non-fiction book every now and again. Because my husband’s taste is so different from mine, our shelves and Kindles are filled with a very wide range of reading options so anyone who cares to browse has plenty to choose from 🤣 Bookstore gift cards have been exchanged between us, too, just so we don’t run the risk of gifting a book which would end up unopened. Book exchanges with friends sounds like a lovely idea! I feel like there’s so much we can learn about other people, simply by looking at their reading preferences. And every time I receive a book from a friend, I start to permanently associate them with it!
I haven’t really considered this. In my survey of four–my family–both men read more than my daughter, but she reads heavy stuff for work so probably doesn’t count. I liked your phrase–men “no longer need to win entire wars alone”. Now Hollywood has women doing that!
Thanks for sharing your case study, Jacqui (my survey only consists of two — my husband and I — so it’s nice to be able to hear from your perspective)! You’re absolutely right, I love seeing powerful female characters capable of holding roles traditionally assigned to men.
A lot to absorb, Damyanti. I found in the corporate world that most male leaders were readers. They would read nonfiction and apply the latest ‘improvement opportunities.’ From several decades of conversations, I discovered many also loved to read fiction. It was their way of relaxing after workplace stress. Other readers in the workplace, both male and female, fell into a wide range of roles, but their appetite for books dropped dramatically compared to executives. I’d love to see the trend reverse for everyone regardless of their roles or genders, but history suggests otherwise. For writers, we’re fortunate because millions will probably keep up the reading habit.
Thank you for sharing your insights! I love seeing how books can play a role in all aspects of life and how important reading often is, even in a corporate context. There’s so much we can learn and apply to our everyday activities, careers, relationships, and so on. What you said about how reading levels are higher for executives in comparison to other employees is so interesting to me. That’s another area I’d like to do more research on. And I completely agree — I hope the trend reverses and reading becomes more popular amongst everyone! But I’m so grateful for all the readers still out there, and for anyone who picks up my books.