@LoveUniHateExams: "I think there have been studies on IQ tests and ethnicity done in America. From what I remember, the highest mean IQ score was by Asian-Americans (Chinese and Japanese heritage), then came white Americans, then Latinos, then black Americans. This difference is only slight - I'm not claiming that the Chinese are the master race or that African-Americans are dumb, for instance."
It's true that there are palpable differences in education spanning across the various races, however I would argue that this has very little to do with race than it has to do with culture. I'm not surprised that the African American demographic ranked lowest in IQ. The single mother rate in the black community has jumped from 20 per cent to 70 per cent in the same course of time that the Civil Rights movement has made such tremendous strides. In a blatant attempt of linking cause and effect, I'm going to mention that a vast number of black kids aren't graduating high school. This may be an apt demonstration of racial prejudice not being the issue, but rather, cultural constructs.
@LoveUniHateExams: "Men tend to be more attracted to high risk-high reward activities whereas women tend to be much more sensible." True words. Women live longer, and that's not just a trivial thing. Historically speaking, from coal mining to fighting in the trenches, men are likely to be killed early by their own testosterone. They do almost all the dangerous jobs, including nearly all the outside work. There are plenty of reasons why men get paid more than women that have nothing to do with gender prejudice. More often, men tend to take awfully strenuous jobs. Imagine working in the oil rigs where it's below forty degrees and come out of that after a few years with two or three fingers missing. As a sweeping generalization between men and women, who do you think are more likely to wrestle with pipes when it's forty below and absolutely filthy?
@Xanthippe: "Even Neanderthals apparently survived for a very long time because they cooperated with one another and had compassion for their badly wounded as is evidenced by survival after severe injury." Interesting. Therein lies my theory for why females inherently preserve their lives for longer than their male counterparts; the conservative roles assumed by the females lent itself to a prolonged lifespan, which in turn complemented the higher procreation of their own offspring. Nice girls may finish last in the workforce, but in the long run, it's a highly effective strategy in the biological world.