According to researchers, the results of this experiment suggest women are more adept than men when it comes to switching quickly between different tasks. Women also fared better in the second experiment, in which both sexes were put to the test performing a set of common, real-life tasks — like sketching out a plan for finding a lost set of keys, locating different restaurants on a city map and solving simple arithmetic problems. Participants (47 men and 47 women) were given a certain amount of time to perform these various tasks simultaneously. To complicate matters even further, participants also had to contend with a ringing telephone that, if answered, prompted them for answers to general knowledge questions.

Women were found to be better at some types of “real world” multitasking, as well. …

Perhaps most significantly, women scored much higher than men on the key search task, leading researchers to suspect women might possess a higher level of cognitive control than men — particularly when it comes to planning, monitoring and inhibiting behavior.