Three possible reasons why 'women leaders' is negative in Isaiah 3:12: role distinctions, lack of respect, or lack of training — Mike favors the training/competence explanation.

Three possibilities for why women leaders would be considered negative: (1) Women aren't supposed to lead due to role distinctions — possible but unexpressed and contradicted by Deborah. (2) Women aren't respected as leaders in the culture — God uses language the audience understands. (3) Women aren't trained or experienced in leadership — in a patriarchal culture, women simply didn't have the training. Mike favors option 3: Isaiah is saying leaders are incompetent, like untrained people in roles they're not prepared for.