Feminists

I've seen it all too frequently and the criticism comes from both men and women. The best managers that I've ever known were nice and assertive and were admired for those traits. Where I saw a stark gender difference was when the managers weren't nice. Men who were nasty but effective at management goals were acceptable. Women who weren't nice were criticized for that regardless of how well they did.

Similarly, women who had children at home were considered weaker candidates but the only time I heard similar criticism of male candidates was when the man was a single parent.

It really is a subtle yet insidious form of discrimination.