History Main / QuicklyDemotedWoman

** In the later seasons, you had Colonel Cameron Mitchell being brought in to lead SG-1 after O'Neill's departure, despite Carter being of equal rank and actually having been on the team much longer (although when Mitchell was brought in to lead SG-1, Carter wasn't on it anymore - she had moved on to heading up R&D for Area 51 and he had to convince her to return, so it's not quite the same as if he had been appointed team leader instead of her). Indeed, many fans complained that Mitchell only made it on the team for failing to die after crashing his plane in the middle of a firefight. Although ultimately the trope was averted in that Carter and Mitchell seemed to share equal command responsibility in practice, and Mitchell's newbie status got him the ButtMonkey treatment on more than a few occasions ("Don't touch that! <rolls eyes>. New guy!"). Mitchell himself pointed out that since he and Carter were of equal rank and Teal'c and Daniel weren't members of the military, he couldn't really give orders to anyone on his team.

* In first colour ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial we are introduced to U.N.I.T.'s specialist scientific advisor, Dr Elizabeth Shaw. Demoted to assistant to the specialist scientific advisor when The Doctor turns up and takes on that role. It is {{Lampshaded}} that her departure for another posting at the end of the season is due to wanting a job where her talents can be fully utilized as the actual lead scientist instead of "handing the Doctor beakers and telling him how brilliant he is", a role to which her replacement Jo Grant is more suited.

* In first colour ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial we are introduced to U.N.I.T.'s specialist scientific advisor, Dr Elizabeth Shaw. Demoted to assistant to the specialist scientific advisor when The Doctor turns up and takes on that role. It is {{Lampshaded}} that her departure for another posting at the end of the season is due to wanting a job where her talents can be fully utilized as the actual lead scientist.

** In the later seasons, you had Colonel Cameron Mitchell being brought in to lead SG-1 after O'Neill's departure, despite Carter being of equal rank and actually having been on the team much longer (although when Mitchell was brought in to lead SG-1, Carter wasn't on it anymore - she had moved on to heading up R&D for Area 51 and he had to convince her to return, so it's not quite the same as if he had been appointed team leader instead of her). Indeed, many fans complained that Mitchell only made it on the team for failing to die after crashing his plane in the middle of a firefight. Although ultimately the trope was averted in that Carter and Mitchell seemed to share equal command responsibility in practice, and Mitchell's newbie status got him the ButtMonkey treatment on more than a few occasions ("Don't touch that! <rolls eyes>. New guy!").

* In first colour ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial we are introduced to U.N.I.T.'s specialist scientific advisor, Dr Elizabeth Shaw. Demoted to assistant to the specialist scientific advisor when The Doctor turns up and takes on that role. It is {{Lampshaded}} that her departure at the end of the season is due to her distaste for this turn of events.

** By way of contrast, the [[Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury television series from the 1970s]] was only marginally better in this regard. Though Buck was a MartyStu in general in that series, with military commanders, nntists, and superhuman AI's bending themselves backwards to accommodate his old-fashioned ways-- which always proved superior.

** Samantha Carter seems aware of and worried about this trope in the pilot, as she's noticeably defensive about a male who outranks her being brought in to potentially lead another stargate expedition. Fortunately, her apparent fears are unfounded, as Colonel O'Neill was tapped for a perfectly good reason and, witty banter aside, is perfectly respectful of women (''scientists'', on the other hand, which Carter also is, have to do some proving of themselves in the field.) Carter quickly becomes the show's [[TheLancer Lancer]] and co-[[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] and leads the team after Jack's eventual departure.
** In the later seasons, you had Colonel Mitchell being brought in to lead SG-1 after O'Neill's departure, despite Carter being of equal rank and actually having been on the team much longer (although when Mitchell was brought in to lead SG-1, Carter wasn't on it anymore - she had moved on to heading up R&D for Area 51 and he had to convince her to return, so it's not quite the same as if he had been appointed team leader instead of her). Indeed, many fans complained that Mitchell only made it on the team for failing to die after crashing his plane in the middle of a firefight. Although ultimately the trope was averted in that Carter and Mitchell seemed to share equal command responsibility in practice, and Mitchell's newbie status got him the ButtMonkey treatment on more than a few occasions ("Don't touch that! <rolls eyes>. New guy!").

** Samantha Carter seems aware of and worried about this trope in the pilot, as she's noticeably defensive about a male who outranks her being brought in to potentially lead another stargate expedition. Fortunately, her apparent fears are unfounded, as Colonel O'Neill was tapped for a perfectly good reason and, witty banter aside, is perfectly respectful of women (''scientists'', on the other hand, have to do some proving of themselves in the field.) Carter quickly becomes the show's [[TheLancer Lancer]] and co-[[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] and leads the team after Jack's eventual departure.
** In the later seasons, you had Colonel Mitchell being brought in to lead SG-1 after O'Neill's departure, despite Carter being of equal rank and actually having been on the team much longer (although when Mitchell was brought in to lead SG-1, Carter wasn't on it anymore - she had gone on to other projects and he had to convince her to return, so it's not quite the same as if he had been appointed team leader instead of her). Indeed, many fans complained that Mitchell only made it on the team for failing to die after crashing his plane in the middle of a firefight. Although ultimately the trope was averted in that Carter and Mitchell seemed to share equal command responsibility in practice, and Mitchell's newbie status got him the ButtMonkey treatment on more than a few occasions ("Don't touch that! <rolls eyes>. New guy!").
*** Then she became TheLeader of the [[Series/StargateAtlantis Atlantis expedition]] by replacing the previous also female leader.
*** Then her web-series got picked up and she was [[PutOnABus put through a wormhole]]. The ObstructiveBureaucrat took her place. Talk about RealLifeWritesThePlot.
*** SG-1 being nothing more than an official [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_Organization_and_Equipment TOE]] at the time, Col. Mitchell's heading the team is more Jack O'Neill's idea of a practical joke than any denigration of Col. Carter, who was by all accounts very very ''very'' happily heading up Area 51's R&D - and who refused to rejoin the team for some time (in real life, Creator/AmandaTapping was [[HideYourPregnancy on maternity leave]]).

** In the later seasons, you had Colonel Mitchell being brought in to lead SG-1 after O'Neill's departure, despite Carter being of equal rank and actually having been on the team much longer (although when Mitchell was brought in to lead SG-1, Carter wasn't on it anymore - she had gone on to other projects and he had to convince her to return, so it's not quite the same as if he had been appointed team leader instead of her). Indeed, many fans complained that Mitchell only made it on the team for failing to die after crashing his plane in the middle of a firefight. Although ultimately the trope was averted in that Carter and Mitchell both seemed to share equal command responsibility in practice, and Mitchell's newbie status got him the ButtMonkey treatment on more than a few occasions ("Don't touch that! <rolls eyes>. New guy!").

** In the later seasons, you had Colonel Mitchell being brought in to lead SG-1 after O'Neill's departure, despite Carter being of equal rank and actually having been on the team much longer (although when Mitchell was brought in to lead SG-1, Carter wasn't on it anymore - he had to convince her to return, so it's not quite the same as if he had been appointed team leader instead of her). Indeed, many fans complained that Mitchell only made it on the team for failing to die after crashing his plane in the middle of a firefight. Although ultimately the trope was averted in that Carter and Mitchell both seemed to share equal command responsibility in practice, and Mitchell's newbie status got him the ButtMonkey treatment on more than a few occasions ("Don't touch that! <rolls eyes>. New guy!").

** Samantha Carter seems aware of and worried about this trope in the pilot, as she's noticeably defensive about a male who outranks her being brought in to potentially lead another Stargate expedition. Fortunately, her apparent fears are unfounded, as Colonel O'Neill was tapped for a perfectly good reason and, witty banter aside, is perfectly respectful of women (''scientists'', on the other hand, have to do some proving of themselves in the field.) Carter quickly becomes the show's [[TheLancer Lancer]] and co-[[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] and leads the team after Jack's eventual departure.
** In the later seasons, you had Colonel Mitchell being brought in to lead SG-1 after O'Neill's departure, despite Carter being of equal rank and actually having been on the team much longer. Indeed, many fans complained that Mitchell only made it on the team for failing to die after crashing his plane in the middle of a firefight. Although ultimately the trope was averted in that Carter and Mitchell both seemed to share equal command responsibility, and Mitchell's status got him the ButtMonkey treatment on more than a few occasions ("Don't touch that! <rolls eyes>. New guy!").

Unfortunately, there's also a more misogynistic, WriterOnBoard variation. These will have the woman demoralised to make a point that [[StayInTheKitchen women aren't made to rule]]. Either she screws up badly and gets fired or demoted, or she's completely overruled and undermined by a male character who automatically assumes control of the situation through no qualification other than having a Y-chromosome. She will either immediately accept this and take on a more stereotypically female role (most likely the GirlyGirl), or protest this demotion and [[TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong be punished by the plot]]. Expect her to become a love-interest [[StrangledByTheRedString whether it makes sense or not]].

** Samantha Carter seems aware of and worried about this trope in the pilot of , as she's noticeably defensive about a male who outranks her being brought in to potentially lead another Stargate expedition. Fortunately, her apparent fears are unfounded, as Colonel O'Neill was tapped for a perfectly good reason and, witty banter aside, is perfectly respectful of women (''scientists'', on the other hand, have to do some proving of themselves in the field.) Carter quickly becomes the show's [[TheLancer Lancer]] and co-[[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] and leads the team after Jack's eventual departure.

** She is much more resentful of losing her position in the [[Anime/SakuraWarsTV anime adaptation]] but said adaptation makes it clearer that it's her lack of empathy and personal skills that led to her demotion, not her gender.

Unfortunately, there's also a more misogynistic, WriterOnBoard variation. These will have the woman demoralised to make a point that [[StayInTheKitchen women aren't made to rule]]. Either she screws up badly and gets fired or demoted, or she's completely overruled and undermined by a male character who automatically assumes control of the situation through no qualification other than having a Y-chromosome. She will either immediately accept this and take on a more stereotypically female role (most likely TheChick), or protest this demotion and [[TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong be punished by the plot]]. Expect her to become a love-interest [[StrangledByTheRedString whether it makes sense or not]].

* Inverted in ''ComicBook/RainbowRowellsRunaways'', where Chase became the de facto leader of the team after Nico quit, only for the team to fall apart because everyone else left. When the team reforms, Nico becomes the leader again, Gert resumes being her second-in-command, and Chase gets treated like the team's errand boy again.

* {{Subverted}} in TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'s Literature/CiaphasCain, '''Hero of the Imperium''' series: When the 597th Valhallan is formed from what's left of two regiments, one all-male and one all-female, after being chewed up and spat out by the Tyranids, the post of colonel goes to the female Kasteen due to her being a few months senior. Cain, THE HERO OF THE IMPERIUM, notes on how this wasn't well-received by the remnants of the male regiment - the women were a garrison regiment while the men were actual front-line fighters (and their major had more combat experience). After teething troubles in the first book, the point is never raised again and the regiment works rather well--which is in large part due to Cain's adept work as commissar in fixing the Administratum's oversights from when they amalgamated the regiments, [[HumbleHero though he'd never admit it even to himself]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{SuikodenI}}'', the leader of the resistance Odessa is soon demoted upon meeting the hero to "dead", though not before she becomes an implied love interest ("You couldn't sleep either?" + speaking while looking at the stars = Love trope). She specifically comments on how she can't be a heroic leader and a woman at the same time when she shields a little kid from arrows. (Because, you know, the male hero would never do that and just let the kid die.) Her last words are essentially to never mention her again and throw her corpse into the sewers to never be found (both to keep the resistance hidden) and then find her big brother. The only sign of her existence in later games is that [[ICallItVera Flik names his sword after her]].

* In ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'', shortly after Lieutenant Megan Russert is promoted to Captain, she is double-demoted back down to Detective. Although her initial promotion was an example of PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad (it is flat-out stated that she was picked because 60% of registered Baltimore voters are female), she has proven herself to be a competent and well-liked administrator. Her demotion, therefore, is used as still further proof that Colonel Barnfather is a PointyHairedBoss. Due to [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Isabella Hofmann leaving the cast]], Russert takes an open-ended administrative leave soon after.

* In the manga ''Manga/{{Mars}}'', male protagonist Rei originally has a female senior racing partner, Kyoko -- an experienced motorcycle rider who teams up with him for the 8-Endurance race. After the race, Kyoko tells Rei's girlfriend, Kira, that that event was her last. She retires to support her husband, Akitaka "as his wife." Given that Akitaka (formerly a racer himself) lost a leg thanks to reckless riding, perhaps this would be understandable...except that ''he'' doesn't give up motorcycles, staying on to coach Rei while Kyoko fades from the picture. Just to add insult to injury, a later conversation notes that it was probably best that Kyoko retired when she did since motorcycling is no sport for a woman and she'd just have been humiliated by the male racers if she'd stayed on.

* In the manga ''Manga/{{Mars}}'', male protagonist Rei originally has a female senior racing partner, Kyoko -- an experienced motorcycle rider who teams up with him for the 8-Endurance race. After the race, Kyoko tells Rei's girlfriend, Kira, that that event was her last. She retires to support her husband, Akitaka "as his wife." Given that Akitaka (formerly a racer himself) lost a leg thanks to reckless riding, perhaps this would be understandable...except that ''he'' doesn't give up motorcycles, staying on to coach Rei while Kyoko fades from the picture. Just to add insult to injury, a later conversation notes that it was probably best that Kyoko retired when she did since motorcycling is no sport for a woman and she'd just have been humiliated by the male racers if she'd stayed on.
* Kyoko Aoi from ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula SAGA'' gets demoted to vice-president of Aoi after Nagumo takes over the ownership of the team during the merge of the 2 Aoi teams, which resulted in Naoki Shinjyo fired from Aoi and he transfers to Union Savior. Subverted later when she gets her position back at the end of ''SAGA'' once Nagumo's true intentions are revealed.

* Played with in the case of Hungary, in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. Upon discovering she's a woman, she decides it's time to give up her life as a soldier in favor of being "a freaking lady" and Austria's maid. Some time after her maid days, she shows up again in charge of her country's military, having gotten over her former trepidations. Given that Hungary's actions are meant to be an allegory for the real-life situation of the country of Hungary, this all is justified.

* {{Subverted}} in TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'s Literature/CiaphasCain, '''Hero of the Imperium''' series: When the 597th Valhallan is formed from what's left of two regiments, one all-male and one all-female, after being chewed up and spat out by the Tyranids, the post of colonel goes to the female Kasteen due to her being a few months senior. Cain, THE HERO OF THE IMPERIUM, notes on how this wasn't well-received by the remnants of the male regiment - the women were a garrison regiment while the men were actual front-line fighters (and their major had more combat experience). After teething troubles in the first book, the point is never raised again and the regiment works rather well--which is in large part due to Cain's adept work as commissar in fixing the Administratum's oversights from when they amalgamated the regiments, [[HumbleHero though he'd never admit it even to himself]].

* The second ''Literature/{{Noob}}'' novel mentions the retired Mist (female), the first top player ever for the fictional {{MMORPG}} in which the story is set, whose fame got overshadowed by her LivingLegend male successor, Spectre. After Spectre himself retired, the two following top players were male as well. The trope is subverted when Mist comes out of retirement in the fourth novel, as she mentions having done quite well for herself on other online games.

* In ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'', shortly after Lieutenant Megan Russert is promoted to Captain, she is double-demoted back down to Detective. Although her initial promotion was an example of PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad (it is flat-out stated that she was picked because 60% of registered Baltimore voters are female), she has proven herself to be a competent and well-liked administrator. Her demotion, therefore, is used as still further proof that Colonel Barnfather is a PointyHairedBoss. Due to [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Isabella Hofmann leaving the cast]], Russert takes an open-ended administrative leave soon after.
* In a ''Series/SevenDays'' episode, a new top-of-the-line American destroyer is sunk by a Chinese submarine, after the former opens fire (both are destroyed). A high-ranking admiral is on-board the ship at the time. Parker goes back in time to prevent the incident. Incidentally, the captain is an old friend, and flame, of his, being the first female captain in the US Navy. One officer even complains about the situation to his wife prior to boarding. Shortly after leaving port, the captain nearly shoots down a civilian airplane that was experiencing radio trouble and couldn't identify itself. The admiral has her relieved and takes command. Thing is, she acted in accordance with official policy when an unidentified aircraft entered range. The fact that she ''didn't'' open fire could probably be a violation. Subverted in that It turns out that it is the ''[[InsaneAdmiral admiral]]'' who is the crazy one. He intends to martyr himself to fire the first shot in a war between the "Red Dragon" and the US. Luckily, the President outranks him. In the end, the same officer who complained expresses the desire to serve under the captain.
* This happened so early in ''Series/CSIMiami'' it actually happened ''before'' the timeframe of the series: The pilot featured Megan Donner, the former day shift supervisor who comes back after a 6-month leave, only to find Horatio Caine in her position (and with no apparent hope of getting it back). It seems also that while H is kind of a TeamDad for the group Megan has a cold or simply professional relationship with most of its members. The character was eventually PutOnABus when producers decided actress Kim Delaney had not enough onscreen chemistry with David Caruso.
** A later flashback episode puts Caine on the case that would lead to CSI's creation with no mention of Donner.
* ''Series/{{CSI}}'' original version averted it for the most part-Catherine was a Supervisor for several years, then became head of the Graveyard shift, though that only lasted two seasons. In the end, her demotion wasn't because of incompetence but because she chose to assume some of the blame for Ray Langston's rampant insubordination while saving his ex-wife from a serial killer. And when she finally got PutOnABus, the bus took her to a plum job at the US Justice Department.
* In first colour ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial we are introduced to U.N.I.T.'s specialist scientific advisor, Dr Elizabeth Shaw. Demoted to assistant to the specialist scientific advisor when The Doctor turns up and takes on that role. It is {{Lampshaded}} that her departure at the end of the season is due to her distaste for this turn of events.
* ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' had this. Unlike ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'', where Pink Ranger Jen was the Leader no matter what, the series started out with Yellow Ranger Taylor as leader of the team. When RookieRedRanger Cole shows up and is declared leader, Taylor isn't thrilled and spends at least another episode still trying to hold on to that command before giving up and letting Cole take control. Sadly, this was because director Jonathan Tzachor decided to recreate ''Series/HyakujuuSentaiGaoranger'', where [[ShesAManInJapan the Yellow Ranger was a guy there.]] In-Universe it was an AppealToTradition since the Red Ranger almost always is the leader, and Cole himself was stumped by this, due to being a ReluctantHero (at first)
* Kaoru Shiba of ''Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'', the real head of the Shiba clan, who was using Takeru as a decoy to protect her. However, when she sees her vassals' unfailing loyalty to Takeru and is then unable to defeat Doukoku by herself, she steps down and formally adopts him so he can take over as clan leader in her place.
** It's done differently in ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai'' - Lauren Shiba arrives and wants to be co-leaders with her younger brother Jayden, but Jayden refuses and leaves as there should only be one leader. However, the other Rangers don't take too kindly to Jayden bailing and aren't too thrilled at Lauren taking over. When her sealing spell fails to work on Xandred and Jayden returns, she gladly returns control back to Jayden.
* In season two of ''Series/{{Continuum}}'', the male inspector Dillon is replaced by a new female DaChief. A few episodes later the new female boss is demoted and Dillon is back in charge. She is extremely upset about the turn of events and accuses Dillon of conspiring to force her out of the job because of her gender. However, the truth is much, much darker. Dillon got the job back because [[spoiler: he made a DealWithTheDevil and agreed to spearhead the effort to turn the Vancouver Police Department into the corporate-owned police force that we see in the bad future]]. The female inspector would have never agreed to this so was forced out.

* Alys of ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV'', who dies about halfway through the first act of the game, leaving her student, Chaz, as de facto leader. Unlike most other examples, she gets plenty of development (to the point of being a DecoyProtagonist) and appears at the end of the game [[spoiler:as one of the spirits sheltered by Elsydeon]].
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' has Quistis Trepe who starts as an instructor. Her demotion comes from her youth (she's eighteen) ultimately having her fail to show sufficient leadership qualities. She quickly follows [[TheHero Squall]]'s lead, despite him being even younger and with even less leadership training, and just freshly graduated.
* Captain I. Burton is the head of the Cruiser ''Tobermoon'' in the backstory of ''VideoGame/StarControl II: The Ur-Quan Masters'', eventually heading the mission on Vela 2 to restore the Precursor facility and build a flagship with its equipment. However, her demotion is more justified than usual, as the player character had an uncanny knack for working with Precursor technology, allowing him to pilot the alien starship while Burton commanded the ''Tobermoon'' again as they set course for Earth. She was killed by a Slylandro Probe during the trip, making the PC the ''de facto'' leader of the entire mission from there on.

* Averted in TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'s Literature/CiaphasCain, '''Hero of the Imperium''' series: When the 597th Valhallan is formed from what's left of two regiments, one all-male and one all-female, after being chewed up and spat out by the Tyranids, the post of colonel goes to the female Kasteen due to her being a few months senior. Cain, THE HERO OF THE IMPERIUM, notes on how this wasn't well-received by the remnants of the male regiment - the women were a garrison regiment while the men were actual front-line fighters (and their major had more combat experience). After teething troubles in the first book, the point is never raised again and the regiment works rather well.

* Samantha Carter seems aware of and worried about this trope in the pilot of ''Series/StargateSG1'', as she's noticeably defensive about a male who outranks her being brought in to potentially lead another Stargate expedition. Fortunately, her apparent fears are unfounded, as Colonel O'Neill was tapped for a perfectly good reason and, witty banter aside, is perfectly respectful of women (''scientists'', on the other hand, have to do some proving of themselves in the field.) Carter quickly becomes the show's [[TheLancer Lancer]] and co-[[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] and leads the team after Jack's eventual departure.

*** SG-1 being nothing more than an official [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_Organization_and_Equipment TOE]] at the time, Col Mitchell's heading the team is more Jack O'Neill's idea of a practical joke than any denigration of Col Carter, who was by all accounts very very ''very'' happily heading up Area 51's R&D - and who refused to rejoin the team for some time.

* Played with in the case of Hungary, in ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia''. Upon discovering she's a woman, she decides it's time to give up her life as a soldier in favor of being "a freaking lady" and Austria's maid. Some time after her maid days, she shows up again in charge of her country's military, having gotten over her former trepidations. Given that Hungary's actions are meant to be an allegory for the real-life situation of the country of Hungary, this all is justified.

* ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' had this. Unlike ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'', where Pink Ranger Jen was the Leader no matter what, the series started out with Yellow Ranger Taylor as leader of the team. When RookieRedRanger Cole shows up and is declared leader, Taylor isn't thrilled and spends at least another episode still trying to hold on to that command before giving up and letting Cole take control. Sadly, this was because director Jonathan Tzachor decided to recreate ''Series/HyakujuuSentaiGaoranger'', where [[ShesAManInJapan the Yellow Ranger was a guy there.]]

** By way of contrast, the [[Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury television series from the 1970s]] was only marginally better in this regard. Though Buck was a MartyStu in general in that series, with military commanders, scientists, and superhuman AI's bending themselves backwards to accommodate his old-fashioned ways-- which always proved superior.

* Samantha Carter seems aware of and worried about this trope in the pilot of ''Series/StargateSG1'', as she's noticeably defensive about a male who outranks her being brought in to potentially lead another Stargate expedition. Fortunately, her apparent fears are unfounded, as Colonel O'Neill was tapped for a perfectly good reason and, witty banter aside, is perfectly respectful of women (''scientists'', on the other hand, have to do some proving of themselves.) Carter quickly becomes the show's [[TheLancer Lancer]] and co-[[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] and leads the team after Jack's eventual departure.

This can sometimes be the official form of {{Chickification}}, since the reduction in rank is often accompanied by a reduction in ability or effectiveness (making you wonder how she got promoted in the first place). If she stays in the story, the focus often shifts away from her career and more towards her emotional and romantic life.

* In the manga ''Manga/{{Mars}}'', male protagonist Rei originally has a female senior racing partner, Kyoko -- an experienced motorcycle rider who teams up with him for the 8-Endurance race. After the race, Kyoko tells Rei's girlfriend, Kira, that that event was her last. She retires to support her husband, Akitaka "as his wife." Given that Akitaka (formerly a racer himself) lost a leg thanks to reckless riding, perhaps this would be understandable...except that ''he'' doesn't give up motorcycles, staying on to coach Rei while Kyoko fades from the picture. Just to add insult to injury, a later conversation notes that it was probably best that Kyoko retired when she did, since motorcycling is no sport for a woman and she'd just have been humiliated by the male racers if she'd stayed on.

* ''Anime/BuddyComplex'' features this with Margaret, who started out as Great Zogilla's special agent, whose task was to make sure that the Zogillan forces take control of what key possessions the Alliance had. She often butted heads with Alfried, who had more experience and understood military combat, and would often try, without avail, to get any of her plans executed. When Margaret finally got a chance to achieve her plan, however, it consisted of nothing more than an AttackAttackAttack sequence that consists of a head-on attack and heavy missle bomardment that could easily be countered. Not only that, but Margaret almost dies in the process. Because this was an "all-or-nothing" plan to please her bosses, Margaret lost her job.

** Daisy Johnson briefly took over as well, but was replaced by Maria Hill.

* The second ''Literature/{{Noob}}'' novel mentions the retired Mist (female), the first top player ever for the the fictional {{MMORPG}} in which the story is set, whose fame got overshadowed by her LivingLegend male successor, Spectre. After Spectre himself retired, the two following top players were male as well. The trope is subverted when Mist comes out of retirement in the fourth novel, as she mentions having done quite well for herself on other online games.

* Samantha Carter seems aware of and worried about this trope in the pilot of ''Series/StargateSG1'', as she's noticeably defensive about a male who outranks her being brought in to potentially lead another Stargate expedition. Fortunately, her apparent fears are unfounded, as Colonel O'Neill was tapped for a perfectly good reason and, witty banter aside, is perfectly respectful of women (''scientists'', on the other hand, have to do some proving of themselves.) Carter quickly becomes the show's [[TheLancer Lancer]] and co-[[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]], and leads the team after Jack's eventual departure.
** In the later seasons you had Colonel Mitchell being brought in to lead SG-1 after O'Neill's departure, despite Carter being of equal rank and actually having been on the team much longer. Indeed, many fans complained that Mitchell only made it on the team for failing to die after crashing his plane in the middle of a firefight. Although ultimately the trope was averted in that Carter and Mitchell both seemed to share equal command responsibility, and Mitchell's status got him the ButtMonkey treatment on more than a few occasions ("Don't touch that! <rolls eyes>. New guy!").

* This happened so early in ''Series/CSIMiami'' it actually happened ''before'' the timeframe of the series: The pilot featured Megan Donner, the former day shift supervisor who comes back after a 6 months leave, only to find Horatio Caine in her position (and with no apparent hope of getting it back). It seems also that while H is kind of a TeamDad for the group Megan has a cold or simply professional relationship with most of its members. The character was eventually PutOnABus when producers decided actress Kim Delaney had not enough onscreen chemistry with David Caruso.

* In season two of ''Series/{{Continuum}}'', the male inspector Dillon is replaced by a new female DaChief. A few episodes later the new female boss is demoted and Dillon is back in charge. She is extremely upset about the turn of events and accuses Dillon of conspiring to force her out of the job because of her gender. However, the truth is much, much darker. Dillon got the job back because [[spoiler: he made a DealWithTheDevil and agreed to spear head the effort to turn the Vancouver Police Department into the corporate owned police force that we see in the bad future]]. The female inspector would have never agreed to this so was forced out.

** Ridley. After her second mission Ridley is promoted to Knight Captain, not because she earned it, but because her Dad (the Lord Chamberlain) wants all her subordinates to act as bodyguards because he doesn't think she can handle being a knight on her own merits. In other words, it's a promotion instead of a demotion but the sexism is still there.

* Maria in ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' is demoted to vice-captain before the beginning of the first game to allow an inexperienced male ensign to come in and take over the Flower Division, despite her being a highly experienced veteran. She even comments in the OVA that it's because she's a women that the team doesn't listen to her, despite still showing great command skill as Ogami's NumberTwo. While she doesn't hesitate to be blunt with her new commander, and the game itself kind of implies that her genuine lack of people skills are what led to her demotion, it's still pretty obvious (and kind of lame) that this was done mainly to justify the game's DatingSim mechanic.
** She is much more resentful of losing her position in the [[Anime/SakuraWarsTV anime adaptation]], but said adaptation makes it clearer that it's her lack of empathy and personal skills that led to her demotion, not her gender.

* In ''VideoGame/{{SuikodenI}}'', the leader of the resistance Odessa is soon demoted upon meeting the hero to "dead", though not before she becomes an implied love interest ("You couldn't sleep either?" + speaking while looking at the stars = Love trope). She specifically comments on how she can't be a heroic leader and a woman at the same time when she shields a little kid from arrows. (Because, you know, the male hero would never do that and just let the kid die.) Her last words are essentially to never mention her again and throw her corpse into the sewers to never be found (both to keep the resistance hidden), and then find her big brother. The only sign of her existence in later games is that [[ICallItVera Flik names his sword after her]].

* Alys of ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV'', who dies about halfway through the first act of the game, leaving her student, Chaz, as de facto leader. Unlike most other examples, she gets plenty of development (to the point of being a DecoyProtagonist), and appears at the end of the game [[spoiler:as one of the spirits sheltered by Elsydeon]].

* ''Series/{{CSI}}'' original version averted it for the most part-Catherine was a Supervisor for several years, then became head of the Graveyard shift, though that only lasted two seasons. In the end, her demotion wasn't because of incompetence but because she chose to assume some of the blame for Ray Langston's rampant insubordination while saving his ex-wife from a serial killer. And when she finally got PutOnaBus, the bus took her to a plum job at the US Justice Department.

Unfortunately, there's also a more misogynistic, WriterOnBoard variation. These will have the woman demoralised [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop to make a point]], and that point is that [[StayInTheKitchen women aren't made to rule]]. Either she screws up badly and gets fired or demoted, or she's completely overruled and undermined by a male character who automatically assumes control of the situation through no qualification other than having a Y-chromosome. She will either immediately accept this and take on a more stereotypically female role (most likely TheChick), or protest this demotion and [[TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong be punished by the plot]]. Expect her to become a love-interest [[StrangledByTheRedString whether it makes sense or not]].

* Subverted on ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet''. Shortly after Lieutenant Megan Russert is promoted to Captain, she is double-demoted back down to Detective. Although her initial promotion was an example of PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad (it is flat-out stated that she was picked because 60% of registered Baltimore voters are female), she has proven herself to be a competent and well-liked administrator. Her demotion, therefore, is used as still further proof that Colonel Barnfather is a PointyHairedBoss. Due to [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Isabella Hofmann leaving the cast]], Russert takes an open-ended administrative leave soon after.

** It's done differently in ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai'' - Lauren Shiba arrives and wants to be co-leaders with her younger brother Jayden, but Jayden refuses and leaves as there should only be one leader. However, the other Rangers don't take too kindly to Jayden bailing and aren't too thrilled at Lauren taking over. When her sealing spell fails to work on Xandred and Jayden returns, she gladly returns control back to Jayden, realizing taking over a team that he had worked with and built up was stupid.

* In Marvel both Maria Hill and [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate]] [[ComicBook/MsMarvel Carol Danvers]] were in control of {{SHIELD}} but was then replaced by a [[IronMan Stark]]. Maria Hill stepped down of her own volition, while Danvers was replaced while she was in a coma, then she was replaced permanently by ComicBook/NickFury, her old boss.