‘Just not that likeable’ – the woman who shattered the glass ceiling with landmark Supreme Court ruling

Bosses accused her of walking and talking like a man but Ann Hopkins challenged Price Waterhouse on sex discrimination and won, and author Gloria Romero wants everyone to know her story, writes Andrew Buncombe

Hopkins made history in 1989 when she sued Price Waterhouse for sex discrimination because partnership was denied her (Getty)

Gloria Romero says she had not even heard the name Ann Hopkins until she started researching her book into gender discrimination. By the time she had finished, she had made it her mission to share with as many people as possible the story of the courageous individual who, three decades ago, won a landmark case at the nation’s highest court, a ruling that opened the doors for women across America.

“My hope is that people will know who she is, what she stood for, and really [appreciate] the doors she’s opened up on this very important issue that we rarely talk about,” says Romero, author of Just not that Likeable: The Price all Women Pay for Gender Bias.

Hopkins, who died in 2018, made history when in 1989 the US Supreme Court ruled in her favour after she sued her former employer, Price Waterhouse, as the company was then known, after she accused it of repeatedly failing to promote her to partner. Even though Hopkins had excellent evaluations, and bagged the company a $44m contract with the US State Department, her bosses told her she was too “macho” and bossy. One manager said she needed to take a charm course.