It is very common for people to blame external factors for their own shortcomings. Gender descrimination may have played a part in whatever trama made her so defensive, but it also may have played no part at all. Her perception of gender descrimination is skewed, so why would you take it at face value? We are all capable of experiencing events which never actually occured (as she did in your class) and so scapegoats are not necessarily tied to the events and mindset which lead to the problem in the first place.