Difficult
When applied to a woman, difficult relates to the idea that women are impractical for having high expectations for themselves and others. When we call a woman difficult, we could be saying: “She’s asking me to challenge myself and I’m not comfortable with a woman doing that”. Words like decisive or determined are more positive ways to describe female colleagues.
Example:
He noticed that his female colleague didn’t live to please others. Instead of labelling her a ‘difficult woman’, he respected her ability to say no.
He noticed that his female colleague didn’t live to please others. Instead of labelling her a ‘difficult woman’, he respected her ability to say no.