Table 4.

Summary of literature review related to sex as physiological driver of diversity.

Reference, year	No. of papers reviewed by reference (for the specific diversity factor)	Methodological quality of the literature review	General conclusion(s)	Effect of diversity factor on thermal comfort established by review
Fanger, 1973 [58]	3	Non-systematic	No difference between men and women; Fanger claims that the slightly lower skin temperature and evaporative heat loss are balanced by lower metabolism in women.	−
Van Hoof, 2008 [61]	4	Non-systematic	Women are more sensitive to temperature fluctuations. Three studies report either higher comfort temperatures of females or, respectively, women feeling cooler when compared with men in the same ambient conditions, especially in cool conditions. Another study reported females were less satisfied with room temperature than men, feeling both uncomfortably hot and cold more often than males, and preferred higher room temperatures.	+
Karjalainen, 2012 [67]	49	Systematic, 20 laboratory studies, 29 field studies	Laboratory studies: Females more dissatisfied: n = 12 No difference: n = 4 Inconclusive: n = 4 Eleven out of 20 studies report that females prefer (significantly) higher temperatures than males, assessed in a range of different thermal conditions. Females are reported to be more sensitive to draft, have lower skin temperatures in the same thermal conditions as men, and be more sensitive to temperature fluctuations in general. Field studies: Females more dissatisfied: n = 16 Males more dissatisfied: n = 1 No difference: n = 10 Inconclusive: n = 2 Generally, females show higher dissatisfaction rate for lower temperatures, are more sensitive to temperature fluctuation and draught. Some studies report different clothing patterns, with women having lower clo values than men.	+
Mishra and Ramgopal, 2013 [59]	20	Non-systematic	Differences between men and women in relation to voting patterns, percentage of dissatisfaction and comfort zone evident. Field and laboratory studies show different clothing patterns between men and women and more inter- and intra-seasonal variations in clothing for females. Most commonly reported differences were those of neutral temperature, with women preferring to be warmer, which is according to the authors due to morphological differences in women (higher surface-to-volume ratio, smaller average body size, less muscle mass, higher surface-to-mass ratio). Women also have a narrower comfort zone according to several cited papers.	+
Rupp, Vasquez and Lamberts, 2015 [60]	8	Systematic, 5 laboratory studies and 3 field studies	Laboratory studies: Mainly in cool temperatures, women are more sensitive to temperature and less sensitive to humidity compared with men. Women more often uncomfortable and dissatisfied with thermal environment than men. Women have lower skin temperatures than men and prefer slightly warmer conditions. Similar neutral temperatures in both men and women and no difference in thermal sensation near neutral conditions. Field studies: in schools, different thermal sensation in girls and boys, over different seasons. Girls more sensitive to low temperatures. During summer, boys more sensitive to higher temperatures. These differences were attributed to the differences in metabolic rate. Other papers state that women are less satisfied with the thermal environment and prefer higher temperatures. Women more sensitive to temperature changes. A study in China showed a 1°C difference in neutral operative temperature between men and women.	+
Wang et al. 2018 [62]	26	Systematic, 11 laboratory studies and 25 field studies	Laboratory studies: Neutral temperature differences were found in two out of eleven laboratory studies. The conclusion is that there is no difference in neutral temperature between men and women. Field studies: Neutral temperature differences were found in seven out of 25 studies. Again, no significant difference in neutral temperature between men and women.	-