I feel this stems from the archaic notion that women are somehow less capable than men and lack the capacity to do wrong in the same way that men do. This is an inherent sexist undertone and informs the tendency to not take women seriously. This sexist undertone has morphed into automatic defence of women leaving people speechless when it’s suggested that they’re just as capable of evil as men. If people actually took women seriously they’d hold them accountable and not always jump to their defence.

Ps. This opinion is in no way intended to bash women. The point is to realise that holding people accountable regardless of sex is in the best interest of equality. Automatically employing practices of “equity” in the form of preferential defence based on the sole criterion of sex is actually to imply you don’t take women seriously and that you think they aren’t as capable of evil.