From Queens to CEOs, The Playbook to Silence Women Hasn’t Changed in Centuries

There is a script that has been followed for hundreds of years. The settings change. The costumes change. The language changes. Yet the lines remain the same. It is a play that has been staged in royal courts, in parliaments, in newsrooms, and in boardrooms. The goal is always identical: to make a woman disappear from influence while convincing the world that it was her fault.

It is not new, and it is not accidental.

The Stage is Set

Throughout history, the same opening act appears. A woman gains visibility and power. She begins to make decisions that affect others. She speaks in rooms where her presence was once unthinkable.

Then, almost without warning, the whispers start. She is “hard to work with.” She is “too emotional.” She is “overly ambitious.” The criticisms are never about the substance of her work. They are about her personality, her appearance, or her private life. The focus shifts from what she is doing to who she is, and more importantly, who she is not.

Royal Courts and Deadly Consequences

Consider Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII. History remembers her as manipulative, vain, and unfaithful — a dangerous woman who schemed her way to the throne. But the charges that ended her life were politically convenient inventions. Her downfall was orchestrated to remove an obstacle to the King’s desires. Her reputation was destroyed so thoroughly that the truth did not matter.

Catherine the Great of Russia was one of the most effective rulers in history. Yet her political rivals spread salacious rumours about her personal life, painting her as immoral to undermine her legitimacy. Centuries later, those false stories persist in popular culture.

Modern Thrones and Corporate Crowns

The same script plays out in modern institutions. Jill Abramson, the first woman to lead The New York Times, was abruptly removed from her position amid claims she was “difficult.” Male editors who displayed similar traits were described as “strong leaders.”

Ellen Pao, who became interim CEO of Reddit, faced relentless personal attacks during and after her tenure. Her decisions were debated less on their merits and more on her supposed character flaws.

In politics, Jacinda Ardern was praised for her leadership during crises, yet was subjected to intense scrutiny over her age, motherhood, and perceived “softness.”

The Consistency of the Pattern

The details shift across time and place, yet the strategy remains constant. Discredit her on a personal level, make the conversation about her character instead of her contribution, and watch her influence erode.

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it spreads quickly. Colleagues become cautious. Allies grow silent. The public begins to question whether she was ever truly fit for the role.

By the time she is gone, the narrative has been rewritten to make her departure seem inevitable.

Why the Script Endures

The playbook works because it uses existing biases as fuel. It thrives on the belief that women must be both competent and agreeable, ambitious yet selfless, strong yet always likable. Any deviation from these impossible standards is recast as evidence of unfitness.

And because the tactics are familiar, they rarely spark outrage. The public sees not an orchestrated removal, but an isolated incident. They do not realise they have watched this exact performance before, just with a different leading woman.

Breaking the Cycle

Recognising the pattern is the first step in breaking it. When we look at history side by side with the present, the recycling of these tactics becomes impossible to ignore. We see that what happened to Anne Boleyn and Catherine the Great is not so different from what happens to women in boardrooms and parliaments today.

These are not individual stories of failure. They are acts in a long-running production that has silenced countless women before they could reach their full potential. The question is how much longer we will let the same script play out.

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📌 Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of our four-part special series The Silent Cancellation: How Women Are Erased Without a Hashtag. In the next instalment, we break down the exact steps used to dismantle a woman’s influence, from the first whisper to the final erasure, so you can recognise it before it happens.