Interesting.

Seems there are at least four possibilities for why this is:

1) men are more interested in chess, due to biology

2) men are more interested in chess, due to societal influence — sexism against women, intentional or not, would fit into this category

3) men are better at chess, due to differences in the brain e.g. spatial awareness

4) men are more likely to become grandmasters, due to the gender having a greater IQ variance, meaning there are more males at both ends of the bell curve (this assumes most grandmasters are geniuses, which might not be the case)

Not arguing for any of the above or trying to be controversial, just putting those ideas out there to see what people think.

I’m also curious to know whether the chess community sees the discrepancy as a problem. Is the general reaction a shrug, or the thought that something should be done to narrow the gap?