People with male brains (Type-S) tend to be better at analysing information

Those with a female brain (Type-E) excel at recognising others' feelings

Men with male brains earn 9.8% more than those with female minds

Women with male brains earn 6.3% more than Type-E peers 

It is often said it is a man's world.

So it should perhaps be no surprise that the key to earning more is to think like a man.

A study found that Britons with a so-called male brain have higher salaries than those with a female brain.

New research by Anglia Ruskin University shows that workers with a 'male brain' earn significantly more than those with a 'female brain'. A stock image of business people are shown. Both men and women can have 'male brains' known as Type-S brains, or 'female brains' which are 'Type-E'

As a result, a woman with an analytical mind will earn 6.3 per cent more than a female who focuses on thoughts and feelings, despite both doing the job.

Researcher Nick Drydakis said it isn't clear why thinking like a man make workers better off but it may be because traditionally male occupations are better paid.

He said that if women are discouraged from entering professions dominated by men, this could be pushing down their pay and contributing to the gender pay gap.

Dr Drydakis's study centred around a theory promoted by Cambridge University researcher Simon Baron-Cohen that women's brains are generally hardwired for empathy, making them good at working out what people are feeling and responding appropriately.

Men, in contrast, tend to be better at 'systemising' - or dealing with patterns, rules and mechanics.

However, despite the labels, not all men have a 'male brain', and not all women have a 'female brain'.

To find out whether a person's brain type was linked to their earning power, Dr Drydakis studied detailed data on more than 16,000 Britons.

The men and women, from right across the country, supplied information about their occupation and salary.

They also filled in a detailed questionnaire to determine whether they had a 'male' or 'female' brain.

Someone with a 'male brain' might say that they would easily fix an electrical problem at home, while admitting that they would reply truthfully when their wife or girlfriend asks 'does my bum look big in this?'.

In contrast, someone with a 'female brain' might be flummoxed by DIY but would be more considerate of feelings.

The results revealed that, overall, those with 'male' brains earned more.

On average, a man with a 'male brain' earned 9.8 per cent more than one with a 'female brain', while a woman with a 'male brain' earned 6.3 per cent more.

The study found that having a male brain is linked to higher wages in management, administration, IT, engineering and banking. A stock image of an engineering setting up a lathe is shown above

Cognitive studies have shown that men score significantly higher on the systemising questionnaire (the desire to construct or analyse systems), while women score significantly higher on the empathising questionnaire. A stock image of a woman consoling and empathising with her friend is shown  

However, some patterns of thinking bring greater rewards in some occupations than others.

Having a 'male brain' brings higher salaries in management, administration, IT, engineering and banking, while having a 'female brain' helps get a pay rise in teaching, social work, skills and customer services.

Dr Drydakis said that caring occupations value people skills, whether they are exhibited by a man or a woman.

Finally, some people have a brain that is equally as good at systemising as it is at empathising.

Such people haves brainpower devoted to systemising than those with 'male' brains but more than those with 'female' brains, which could help explain why their salaries fell in the middle.

Dr Drydakis, whose research has been published by the IZA, the German-based Institute for the Study of Labour, said that British bosses reward those who think like a man.

He said: 'Overall, the results show employees with higher systemising traits, or a 'male' brain, receive greater financial rewards in the UK labour market'.

'The results also suggest that men and women in certain occupations face positive wage rewards when their empathising and systemising traits are atypical to their gender, for example men with a female brain working in social care or women with a male brain working in banking.'

People with a female brain earn higher wages in sectors such as education (stock image) social care and sales where empathising traits may be a better fit for these jobs' requirements, than workers with a male brain