According to a recent global English proficiency test, women tend to speak better English when compared to men. 

The findings have been similar for the eighth year in a row, as reported by Business Insider.

This year’s English First (EF) English Proficiency Index (EPI) accounted for 1.3 million adults across 88 countries and regions who were not native English speakers. It was suggested that women have a better command of the English language because female students used a wider variety of strategies to retain new information and were more willing to make mistakes.

Last year, there was only half a point difference between men and women’s English proficiency compared to this year, when the difference increased to one and a half points. The study also reported that this difference “significantly” widened the gender gap in Asia.

Additionally, Singapore and Malaysia are said to be among the three highest ranked Asian countries when it comes to proficiency in the English language. 

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Women in Singapore scored 69.63, while men scored 1.97 points lower. Singapore ranked third internationally, behind Sweden and the Netherlands. Last year, it ranked in fifth place out of 80 countries.

Men in Malaysia scored 60.09, while women scored 1.38 points lower. Malaysia ranked 22nd on the list internationally. Last year, it ranked 13th out of 80 countries, according to another Business Insider report.

Regardless of gender, managers worldwide were found to have a better grasp of the English language than executives or other staff. EF assumed that this was because managers interacted more with their colleagues and clients, both domestically and overseas. This interaction provided managers more practice. 

Asia was found to have the smallest proficiency gap between managers and executives. According to EF, English-speaking skills are highly valued in any workplace, as more proficient English speakers were found to often get promoted to managerial positions. (acr/kes)