Our skills now do not relate much to those used then. I think this is a definite possibility and that research looking into the social aspect of the problems may be helpful. Males and females do tend to tackle problems from different angles and may see things in different ways. This could account for some of the differences between the results for the word problems. I would say this is true.
Females do look more into facial expressions and their related emotions.
This may be due to the fact that they feel they need to know or even like to know how others are feeling. Males may just think they know or may not be as aware of the emotions that are linked to the expressions. I would have thought that culture would have an effect. You are affected by the environment you live in and are raised in. This need not be only your family but also your peers.