"If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman"
About this Quote
The subtext is sharper than the slogan. Thatcher isn’t simply praising women; she’s weaponizing a stereotype of female efficiency against a culture that assigns women execution without credit. It’s both a jab at male complacency and a reminder that women have been forced to become pragmatists in systems that deny them room for error. When you’re not assumed to belong, you learn to deliver.
Context adds bite. Thatcher rose to power in a Britain where leadership was still coded as male and where she was routinely treated as an exception rather than evidence. The line reframes that exception: if the political class wants results, it should stop treating women as symbolic appointments and start treating them as governing talent. It also functions as self-mythmaking. Thatcher casts her legitimacy not in warmth or consensus but in output, the language of getting things done. In a culture obsessed with who gets to speak for the nation, she asserts that accomplishment is the only credential that survives the noise.
Quote Details
| Topic | Leadership |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Thatcher, Margaret. (2026, January 17). If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-something-said-ask-a-man-if-you-want-28171/
Chicago Style
Thatcher, Margaret. "If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-something-said-ask-a-man-if-you-want-28171/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-something-said-ask-a-man-if-you-want-28171/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.












