What is it we don’t like about capable women?

These women are all unwilling to sugarcoat their own brilliance.

What do Meghan Markle and Elizabeth Warren have in common? Superficially, not much. One’s a meticulous and sensible Harvard professor and politician, the other a poised selfmade millionaire actress with a famous husband.

Elizabeth Warren seems firmly overqualified for everything. The type of person who, if the four horsemen of the apocalypse came calling, she’d have a spreadsheet for that. Meghan seems more likely to rock a power suit than a PowerPoint, exuding a kind of firm, modern-yet-wholesome glamour, like a cross between Anna Wintour and a NutriBullet.

However, there are two key similarities. One, they’re undeniably both bold, successful and as steely boned as a Victorian corset. Two, people irrationally hate them.

They had a big week last week, Warren dropping out of the Democratic nomination race and Meghan busting out of the royal birdcage with her final act of handshaking and tiny hat wearing. And it gave a lot of people a lot of chances to do a lot of bitching.

Admittedly, people have been sniffing and sniping about Meghan for so long that it kind of all blurs into one Mean Girls montage. But what’s curious is that, if you listen closely, people never really say why they hate her so much.

I can understand, even if I don’t accept, them hating her for leaving the royal family. But they can never really articulate why they hate her personally.

They sputter, they sigh, they sniff, and often just end up mashing together a set of wholly unprovable negative assumptions. ‘‘Oh she’s just so . . . you know, arrogant and entitled and greedy and . . . you know?’’ Not really.

There’s no basis to the claims, no examples to back them up, no photos of Meghan stabbing kittens in the eyes or stealing teaspoons at the palace. It’s just naked, directionless dislike.

It’s about as sensible as the female Democratic supporters at rallies who, when asked about Warren, say they just want to punch her in the face. Even if they agree with what she’s saying. In fact, especially if they agree with what she’s saying.

Like Meghan, they just don’t like her. And that, many critics have argued, is why America wasn’t ready to vote for her. She wasn’t likeable enough.

I was settling into a soliloquy to a friend about how nonsensical this all was when they stopped me mid-rant, ‘‘But Verity, you hate (insert the name of a very accomplished, successful, smart and hardworking woman we both vaguely know). Even when you agree with everything she says . . .’’ That shut me up.

She’s right. I’ve been grumpy with this woman, with whom, by all accounts, I agree on most stuff, for ages. She irrationally irritates the hell out of me, and when asked I can’t think of a single logical reason . . . just like Meghan’s detractors.

But when you get into it, you start to see a pattern. Elizabeth Warren, Meghan Markle and this chick are all incredibly successful – and they’re also very unapologetic about it.

Warren, a renowned academic and lawyer, bowled into politics determined to fix every aspect of American life. Meghan, with her own money, was royally uncompromising about leaving The Firm because it’s an obvious threat to any modern woman’s happiness and independence.

And they don’t apologise for being so determined. They don’t self-deprecate, don’t pretend to be endearingly hot messes, or go out of their way Jacindastyle to show us how relatable they are. They do nothing to soften the glare of their full abilities.

My chick is the same. These women are all unwilling to sugar-coat their own brilliance. Probably because they don’t see it as their job to do that, just to make us feel less bad about our sadsack selves. Hence why we sniff they’re unlikeable; their unvarnished competence makes us insecure about our own.

We can handle women who have it together as long as they’re nice about it. Look at Jacinda. But if you’re unbothered about making your brilliance less confronting, then you get a kicking.

I tested out this theory on my most successful, has-her-act-together friend, who’s extraordinarily talented and (being Scandinavian) matter of fact about it. ‘‘Yeah,’’ she agreed immediately, ‘‘I have my shit together and people can’t handle it.’’

Ultimately, it’s because women are still held responsible for how we make others feel, whereas men are allowed to intimidate the hell out of us and we call that sexy. So we still expect powerful women to pussyfoot around our insecurities, everywhere from boardrooms to bedrooms.

Which is sad really, because if we just sat down, shut up and let them run their show, we’d probably have a much better, efficient and successful world.