Yes, she would absolutely have gotten a greatly reduced sentence if she had been a man who immediately turned state's witness, gave them everything they wanted,

Yes, she would absolutely have gotten a greatly reduced sentence if she had been a man who immediately turned state's witness, gave them everything they wanted, and testified in court. SBF played himself every step of the way. He tried to win in the court of public opinion rather than the court of law, leaking Ellison's diary to the press, blogging on Substack, talking to reporters any time they called, flaunting the judge's orders, etc. He also clumsily tried to tamper with witnesses. SBF got 25 years because he instigated the scheme, never fessed up, and did everything a lawyer would tell you not to do. Ellison immediately made a deal with prosecutors, cooperated, testified, et cetera. While SBF was digging his hole deeper, she was climbing out of hers. And though she carried out the scheme, she wasn't the primary instigator (and there is lots of testimony, emails, etc to corroborate this). People who immediately flip and cooperate heavily get good deals. That's just how these things work. Conversely, SBF did everything you could do to get yourself a longer sentence. It has absolutely nothing to do with Ellison being a woman. I've been following this story closely, and this sentencing came as no surprise. To be honest, if you were surprised - then you probably weren't following. Refer to the article for quotes from Judge Kaplan about her "exemplary" cooperation, and consider whether you were too quick to jump to the conclusion she received special treatment because of her gender.