Theresa May is judged more “harshly” than male British politicians because she is a woman, Hillary Clinton has said.
The former presidential candidate told BBC Radio 4′s Woman’s Hour on Tuesday that she “absolutely” had sympathy with the prime minister for the way she was branded “robotic” or “awkward”.
“There is a really predominant double standard for women in politics. We are judged so much more harshly and with little margin for uniqueness, difference or error - unlike men,” she said.
“Look at some of the men in British politics, like some of the men in American politics, honest to goodness, they tell lies, they promote phony campaigns, they make attacks.
“And along comes a woman prime minister, your second, and everything from her hair to her kitten heels is ripe for criticism and derision. It just goes with the territory.”
Clinton was supposed to appear on the programme on Monday - however she had to postpone the interview after she broke her toe.
Speaking to the BBC, the former secretary of state criticised President Donald Trump for his attempts to “diminish and demean” women.
She said Trump had “misjudged” both May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“I thought that it was really telling. He wants to dominate everyone. And he does, to give him credit, he has a visceral intuition about what to do to make people feel intimidated - or at least to try to.
“With Angela Merkel he literally would not look at her or talk to her sitting in the Oval Office.
“With Theresa May he takes a different tack which is to grab her hand and pull her in so she is identified with him whether she agrees with him or not.
“And so I think you saw in full display two of the tactics he uses to try to sort of categorise, stereotype and dominate women.”
May has said Trump was “being a gentleman” when he took her hand during her visit to the White House shortly after his election.