Reading: Gender, social norms, and survival in maritime disasters

What was the main question of the study?

Whether the social norm “women and children first” actually gives women a survival advantage in shipwrecks.

What kind of data did the researchers use?

A new database of 18 maritime disasters from 1852–2011, covering over 15,000 individuals of 30+ nationalities.

What famous case inspired the study?

The Titanic disaster (1912), where 70 % of women and children survived but only 20 % of men.

What is the key social norm being tested?

“Women and children first” (WCF).

What were the authors’ overall findings about gender and survival?

Women had a clear survival disadvantage compared with men; men survived roughly twice as often.

What percentage of female survival disadvantage was observed on average?

Women’s survival rate was about 17.9 % vs. men’s 34.6 % — a ≈17 percentage-point gap.

Who survived most often overall?

Crew members, followed by captains and male passengers; women and children had the lowest rates.

How did captains and crew compare to passengers?

Captains and crew survived significantly more often than passengers.

How many captains went down with their ships?

Only 9 of 18 captains did so.

What was the main conclusion about “women and children first”?

Compliance with WCF is exceptional, not typical—most shipwrecks followed “every man for himself.

How many of the 18 shipwrecks showed a female survival advantage?

Only 2 (Birkenhead and Titanic).

How many shipwrecks showed a female disadvantage?

11 shipwrecks showed women were less likely to survive.

What role did the captain’s behavior play?

When the captain explicitly ordered WCF, women’s relative survival improved (~ +9.6 percentage points).

Was duration of sinking (quick vs slow) linked to gender survival?

No — women’s disadvantage existed regardless of how fast the ship sank.

Did women fare better when they were a smaller share of passengers?

No; they actually did slightly worse, contrary to the hypothesis.

Did longer voyages improve women’s relative survival?

No; time spent onboard (social proximity) made no significant difference.

Did ship size affect women’s chances?

No clear evidence; smaller ships didn’t improve women’s survival rates.

How did the gender gap change after World War I?

It narrowed — women’s survival improved by ≈7–9 percentage points relative to men.

What was found about British vs non British ships?

Women fared worse on British ships, even though WCF orders were more common there.

What conclusion did the authors draw about culture and leadership?

Leadership (the captain’s orders) mattered more than national culture or moral sentiment.

What does the phrase “every man for himself” summarize?

That self-preservation dominated behavior in most maritime disasters.

How does this contrast with the Titanic?

The Titanic was an outlier where strict WCF orders were enforced and compliance was unusually high.

What broader insight does the paper provide about norms?

Social norms often break down in extreme life-and-death situations unless enforced by authority.

How does this study link to economics and behavior?

It illustrates how cost-benefit logic can override social norms when personal survival is at stake.