Finding strong female characters in the 80s was tough and was never a popular choice with otaku at the time if the 80s female popularity list in Newtype is anything to go by.
The Dirty Pair, The Knight Sabers along with our next entry were all overlooked.

Roux Louka was the pilot who took over the Zeta Gundam seat from Kamille Bidan after he ended up comatosed at the end of Zeta Gundam.
Her role is exactly the same as Emma Sheen's, being the big sister mentor to the hapless Judau Ashta and his friends from the Shangri-La colony.
She easily put Glemy Toto in his place many times and while she can be abrasive, she's a little more laid back than Emma was, so why did no one take notice? She even has the 80s look down.
When you actually read who made the list to begin with, the majority are supporting Gundam ladies like Sayla Mass and Fa Yuiry, cute and adorable like Elpeo Ple and Minky Momo, evil is sexy like Haman Karn and Doronjo or outright iconic like Lum. The exceptions being Honey Kisaragi and Ple Two who are more in line with the 90s tastes but still made the list.
That's where the answer lies, Roux was a decade too early, in the 90s and 00s she'd be quite high on the list but in the 80s she's a non entity.
Otaku tastes in the 80s just boiled down to, would make a good girlfriend, make a cute little sister or again, evil is sexy; no space for strong females.