Abstract
In order to understand how gender roles influence the selection of people who are admired, we analyzed the results of the Most Admired Men and Women polls conducted annually by Gallup and Good Housekeeping. Most Admired Men were more likely than women to have achieved their fame without sponsorship of a well-known family or spouse. However, the proportion of Autonomous women was higher in the 1980s and 1990s than previously. Men were more likely to be admired for their service in the military, politics, religion, and economics; women were more likely to be admired because they belonged to a royal or political family, or because of their work as activists and reformers or in the area of entertainment and culture. A small percentage of both men and women had been the victim of personal tragedy. The great majority of the admired individuals were White Americans. No Hispanics or Native Americans made the lists, and all but one of the Asians were women. In short, both gender and ethnic stereotypes seem to have influenced the choice of Most Admired Men and Women.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cann, A., & Siegfried, W. D. (1990). Gender stereotypes and dimensions of effective leader behavior.Sex Roles, 23, 413–419.
Carothers, D. F. (1993). Review of Zuckerman, M. E., compiler:Sources on the history of women's magazines, 1792–1960: An annotated bibliography.Journalism Quarterly, 70, 719.
Current Biography. (1946–1994). (Volumes 7–55). Bronx, NY: The H. W. Wilson Company.
Deaux, K., & Major, B. (1987). Putting gender into context: An interactive model of gender-related behavior.Psychological Review, 94, 369–389.
Eagly, A. H. (1995). The science and politics of comparing women to men.American Psychologist, 50, 145–158.
Eagly, A. H., & Mladinic, A. (1994). Are people prejudiced against women? Some answers from research on attitudes, gender stereotypes, and judgments of competence.European Review of Social Psychology, 5, 1–35.
Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (1991). Explaining sex differences in social behavior: A meta-analytic perspective.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 306–315.
Facts on file. (1947–1995). (Volumes 7–24). New York: Facts on File.
Gallup Poll Monthly (1993, December),339, p. 16.
Geis, F. L., Boston, M. B., & Hoffman, N. (1985). Sex of authority role models and achievement by men and women: Leadership performance and recognition.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 636–653.
GH Poll: The ten most admired women. (1970, January).Good Housekeeping, 170. 10–14.
Herbert, M. C., & McNeil, B. (Eds.). (1980–1995).Biography and genealogy master index. New York: Gale Research Company.
International who's who. (1947–1995). (11th–21st eds.) London: Europa Publications.
Kanter, R. M. (1977).Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic Books.
Krafft, S. (1991, December). Window on a woman's mind.American Demographics, 13, 44–50.
Lang, G. E. (1978). The most admired woman: Image-making in the news. In G. Tuchman, A. Kaplan Daniels, & J. Benet (Eds.)Hearth and home: Images of women in the mass media. New York: Oxford University Press.
Laponce, J. A. (1990). The heroes' trade: A contribution to a geography of culture.Social Science Information, 29, 279–295.
Lipman-Blumen, J. (1992). Connective leadership: Female leadership styles in the 21st-century workplace.Sociocultural Perspectives, 35, 183–203.
Morrison, A. M., White, R. P., Van Velsor, E., & The Center for Creative Leadership. (1992).Breaking the glass ceiling: Can women reach the top of America's largest corporations? (updated ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Moskowitz, D. S., Suh, E. J., & Desaulniers, J. (1994). Situational influences on gender differences in agency and communion.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 753–761.
Most admired women poll. (1993, September).Good Housekeeping, 217, 47.
Nixon voted ‘most admired man’ by the American public. (1973, January).Gallup Opinion Index, 91, p. 18.
Ragins, B. R., & Sundstrom, E. (1989). Gender and power in organizations: A longitudinal perspective.Psychological Bulletin, 105, 51–88.
Reddy, M. A. (1994).Statistical abstract of the world. New York: Gale Research.
Simonton, D. K. (1994).Greatness: Who makes history and why. New York: The Guilford Press.
Smith, E. R., & Mackie, D. M. (1995).Social psychology. New York: Worth Publishers.
Smith, T. W. (1986). The polls: The most admired man and woman.Public Opinion Quarterly, 50, 573–583.
Swim, J. K. (1994). Perceived versus meta-analytic effect sizes: An assessment of the accuracy of gender stereotypes.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 21–36.
Swim, J. K., Borgida, E., Maruyama, G., & Myers, D. G. (1989). Joan McKay versus John McKay: Do gender stereotypes bias evaluations?Psychological Bulletin, 105, 409–429.
Webster's new biographical dictionary. (1983). (rev. ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.
Who's Who in America. (1946–1994). (24th–48th eds.). New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Young, T., Harris, M.B. Most Admired Women and Men: Gallup, Good Housekeeping, and gender. Sex Roles 35, 363–375 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01664774
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01664774