Women-Are-Wonderful Effect

Social psychologist Alice Eagly and Antonio Mladinic documented the phenomenon in a 1991 study, finding that American undergraduates — both male and female — held more favorable stereotypes of women than men, particularly around warmth and empathy. Their 1994 paper coined the phrase "women-are-wonderful effect" to describe this gender bias in social evaluation. Eagly had earlier noted in 1984 that positive attitudes toward women were rooted in their traditional role as nurturers — meaning the "wonderful" effect reflected benevolent sexism as much as genuine admiration.