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We assume women are morally superior to men – and that's a bad thing

Women seem to be judged as being more moral than men, which could mean they have further to fall if they don't meet societal expectations

By Sara Novak

23 May 2025

The word angelic is considered to be more feminine than masculine

Matheus Frade/Unsplash

Think of an imaginary person who has a strong moral compass. According to a series of recent experiments, you probably just pictured a woman or a girl. Scientists have found that we tend to associate morality more closely with femininity than masculinity, which may pose a surprising disadvantage for women.

and her colleagues at Boston College in Massachusetts wanted to better understand the traits and attitudes that we ascribe to people who are considered morally good.

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