When Britain’s first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, took office in 1979, the male-dominated opposition party popularized the sexist slogan “Ditch the B*tch!,” and an MP purportedly nicknamed her “Atilla the Hen.” Implying that Thatcher’s assertive leadership style made her more masculine than stereotypical women, a male Palestinian political leader insultingly referred to Thatcher as “The Iron Man.”
The reception of women leaders was no more enlightened nearly four decades later when Hillary Clinton ran for President in 2016. To the contrary, obnoxious hecklers chanted “Iron my shirt” while Clinton spoke at a rally and held large signs saying the same. A TV commentator labeled Clinton “a ‘stereotypical b*tch’ who would drive all men crazy . . . [with] her ‘nagging.” That same year, Republican vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, was dubbed a “VPILF,” and she was asked on camera by a major news outlet whether her breasts were real. On his popular nightly show, comedian David Letterman suggested that Palin’s primary achievement during a trip to New York involved buying “makeup from Bloomingdale’s to update her slutty flight attendant look.”
The situation is equally, if not more, dire for other female leaders around the world. For example, when President Ursula von der Leyen, the first woman to lead the European Union, took office, she was asked whether she would be able to manage her duties while also raising her seven children—a question she felt would never have been addressed to a man. Across the ocean, the macho media decried Argentinian President Christina Fernandez de Krichner as a “b*tch,” “bimbo,” and even “botox Evita,” “lampoon[ing] [her] . . . for buying Christian Louboutin shoes during a trade trip to Paris.” Australia’s first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was called a “nonproductive old cow,” and sexualized cartoons featuring her were circulated on social media. Gillard’s critics used sexist slogans like “[D]itch the witch” and “[D]itch the b*tch.” They even featured “Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail” on the menu at a fundraiser. The dish was described as having “small breasts, huge thighs and a big red box.”
Across time, place, and industry, leaders who are women have often been sanctioned in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways because of their sex. But why? Part I of this Article explores the historical background of discrimination against women, particularly those who defy sex stereotypes. Part II investigates the myriad ways these women are sanctioned, often with the hope of making their leadership and employment experiences so intolerable that they either resign, fail, or both. Part III elucidates the possible reasons why women are sanctioned because of their sex. Part IV discusses the ultimate results of these sex-based sanctions, while Part V draws upon lessons from successful female leaders to offer possible solutions to counter them.
