At the front of an unforgettable 9 August 1959 transformative and revolutionary march stood Lilian Ngoyi, Rahima Moosa, Helen Joseph, and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, leaders who risked opposing apartheid pass laws and chose to stand anyway. They led 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, singing “Wathint’ Abafazi, Wathint’ Imbokodo” — You strike a woman, you strike a rock. Their power lay not in press statements or personal brands, but in solidarity that made one leader’s stumble unable to sink the cause.

Sixty-six years later, that unity feels distant. Today’s women leaders in politics, business, and civil society often rise alone, celebrated as symbols of progress, only to face relentless scrutiny. Some maintain credibility and finish strong, while others falter, ending their tenure in controversy that overshadows achievements.

The question is not whether women can lead, history has answered that. The critical question is why some begin as beacons of ethical change but end under a cloud, while others endure with integrity intact. What happens when they enter systems that reward aggression, punish vulnerability, and normalise sabotage? Ethical failure is not exclusive to gender, but women often face harsher reputational damage, even when allegations are unproven.

The “Machiavellian Mary” Archetype

Psychologists Shoba Sreenivasan and Linda E. Weinberger describe a leadership archetype known as Machiavellian Mary — a woman who rises through charm and compliance with those above but rules through fear and manipulation below. Her leadership style is marked by:

• Top-down authoritarianism
• Sabotaging team cohesion
• Suppressing dissent and innovation

This behaviour emerges in hierarchies where success is measured by dominance, not collaboration. In South Africa, it is visible across sectors, from corporate boardrooms to public institutions.

Research from King IV Report on Corporate Governance™ reminds us that ethical leadership offers a counterweight. Where Machiavellian leaders manipulate through fear, ethical leaders build legitimacy through fairness, accountability, and transparency. Credibility rests not in dominance but in consistency between values and actions. By welcoming dissent, encouraging innovation, and modelling responsibility, ethical leaders create conditions where women — and all leaders — can thrive without compromise.

The South African Context

Women leaders in South Africa face a unique cocktail of pressures:

• Patriarchal institutions that reward dominance over collaboration
• Gendered expectations that demand strength without vulnerability
• Corruption-prone systems where ethical resistance is punished

In such environments, women may suppress empathy to avoid being seen as weak, sabotage peers to protect their position, or mimic toxic masculinity to gain legitimacy. These behaviours are not innate but adaptive responses to hostile systems.

This underlines the critical role of organisational culture. Ethical culture is not a slogan but the daily lived experience of fairness, respect, and accountability. In toxic cultures, sabotage and mimicry of toxic masculinity are rewarded. In ethical cultures, collaboration, empathy, and integrity are celebrated. Leaders can maintain their values because systems support competence over loyalty and transparency over silence.

The Socioeconomic Tightrope

Women leaders are often pulled between professional responsibilities and expectations from families, communities, or social causes. Many rise without the financial safety nets men enjoy, juggling leadership with caregiving, financial obligations, and societal scrutiny, vulnerabilities that can lead to ethical shortcuts or burnout.

The Glass Cliff

Women are frequently appointed to lead during crises, a phenomenon known as the glass cliff. They clean up failing institutions without adequate support, then are blamed if recovery falters. Ethical leadership alone cannot withstand systemic pressures if culture undermines it. But when ethical leadership is matched by a culture that normalises accountability, supports whistleblowing, and protects integrity, the glass cliff is less steep. Women are judged on merit, not forced into impossible trade-offs.

The Shadow of Political Interference

Ethical leadership does not exist in a vacuum. Political interference has hollowed out institutions like SAPS, the NPA, and public administration, creating a culture where loyalty trumps competence and silence is safer than integrity. This often manifests as:

• Cadre deployment placing untrained individuals in powerful roles, driving skilled professionals out
• Appointments based on allegiance rather than merit
• Lifestyle corruption eroding ethical standards and normalising impunity

Political survival often depends on balancing competing interests while avoiding perceptions of being ‘too soft’ or ‘too harsh’. King IV™ Report emphasises the duty of governing bodies to foster ethical culture through reporting systems, ethics committees, and visible ethics champions. Without this, principled leaders risk isolation while unethical behaviour becomes normalised.

The Emotional Toll

Leadership requires emotional stamina, but women face additional burdens. They are judged on results, tone, appearance, and emotional expression. Show anger, and they are labelled ‘unstable’; show too little, and they are ‘cold’. Ethical cultures soften this bind by promoting respect, fairness, and open conversations. Leaders who model empathy and transparency set a tone valuing authenticity over performance stereotypes.

The Mental Strain of Constant Scrutiny

Women are rarely given room for error. Every decision or lapse is magnified and often seen as evidence of general unsuitability. Constant surveillance, compounded by media attention, breeds anxiety and defensiveness, impairing judgment. Ethical cultures frame mistakes as opportunities to learn, applying principle-based evaluations equally to all leaders.

The Intellectual Overload

Unlike many male counterparts, women are expected to be experts in everything: policy, communications, public image, and reform. Overextension creates blind spots, worsened by teams reluctant to challenge them for fear of reinforcing stereotypes. Ethical cultures encourage constructive dissent, reducing isolation and promoting collaboration.

The 1959 Legacy

The women of the 1959 march succeeded because their leadership was collective. They:

• Grounded themselves in the socioeconomic realities of working women
• Built political unity across divides in a time of enforced segregation
• Nurtured emotional resilience through solidarity
• Sustained mental clarity despite arrests and bans
• Shared intellectual work, drawing strength from diverse perspectives

Their example shows women succeed when they resist isolation and embrace collective accountability. King IV™ calls for inclusive, ethical leadership; cultures flourish when leaders share accountability, distribute power, and foster unity.

Five Lessons for Today’s Women Leaders

1. Anchor to a cause bigger than yourself – Mission must outweigh personal ambition. Ethical leadership draws legitimacy from serving the greater good
2. Avoid the glass cliff trap – Demand resources and structural support before accepting crisis roles. Ethical cultures must ensure fairness in appointments
3. Prioritise emotional and mental health – Leadership requires intentional, holistic well-being supported by organisations that respect balance
4. Distribute leadership – Build teams with the power to challenge and share the load. In ethical cultures, dissent is welcomed as collaboration
5. Claim space unapologetically – Reject double standards by setting the tone of your own leadership style, grounded in values and integrity

Building Ethical Resistance: A Framework for Today’s Women Leaders

To withstand these pressures, women must cultivate both internal fortitude and external support:

• Clarify your values and revisit them often. Ethical leadership begins with a clear compass.
• Build psychological armour through therapy, mindfulness, and boundary-setting.
• Form or join ethical alliances — sisterhood circles, mentors, coaches, and peer accountability. These networks mirror the “flag bearer” role of ethics ambassadors, who create safe spaces for dialogue and guidance.
• Study ethical role models like Thuli Madonsela, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who show that resilience and femininity can coexist with principled leadership.
• Practise micro-courage — daily acts of integrity, even when they cost you, will keep you grounded and respected.
• Push for structural reforms — transparent HR systems, whistleblower protections, and leadership audits for accountability. Ethical resistance isn’t only personal, it’s also political and systemic.

Finishing Strong

Finishing strong is the result of leadership and culture working together. Ethical leadership aligned with organisational culture allows women to thrive without compromise. Leadership endures when shared, values-driven, and collective. Women leaders today can draw from 1959’s legacy, resist isolation, reshape organisations, and finish strong with integrity. Women are not only rocks when struck; they are builders, visionaries, and guardians of ethical resilience. Many women have led ethically for decades — Thuli Madonsela, Christine Lagarde, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Their integrity was their power to start and finish as ethical icons.

Palesa Mashabane is an Ethics Subject Matter Expert at The Ethics Institute.