Ashley got a lot 'bad press'. The reasons are usually two-fold:
1. She made the 'dog' analogy.
2. She said she couldn't tell the aliens from the animals when on the Presidium.
As such, she was labelled 'bigot'. While the second is less forgiveable, even if said facetiously or tongue in cheek, the first is just philosophy and not an uncommon concept. For those who don't know, Ashley says that if you're running from a bear, you'd sacrifice your dog to get away, implying that the Council races would sacrifice the humans in a heartbeat for their own benefit and vice versa. A cynical view, but not without base or merit. Remember of course, that Ashley is very well read, and is always citing passages from great works so it would be fair to say that she is not being rash.
I would personally call her a 'traditionalist', due to her faith. The various faiths of Earth must have had pause for thought when they discovered we are not alone in the galaxy, the idea that God deals only in humans would be ludicrous. But by tradition, and familiarity, many would have continued with their own doctrine and ceremony long after and for those very reasons: tradition and familiarity.
The alien/animal thing? We all say facetious things we don't really mean when we think no-one is listening but unfortunately for Ash, there were a few million of us listening.
But that's all only one small part of Ashley Williams.
Eldest of four sisters, and having a tradition of military service in the family, Ashley joined the Earth Systems Alliance Navy as a ground combatant. However, the Williams family name is tarnished in the military, due to her grandfather, General Williams' surrender of the Shanxi outpost in the First Contact War with the turians and despite that being decades earlier, her rise through the ranks is slow and impeded because of it, still only being Gunnery Chief when we meet her in Mass Effect 1. Her family, her duty, and her honour are what keep her going, and she never flinches at any of them.
In a lighter moment during a conversation with Shepard, Williams says she should ask Liara about her sex life, due to the common misconception that asari are promiscuous due to their reproductive habits (able to mate with any species). Shepard, if you choose to say so, advises that's probably not a good idea as Liara's new to the humans and wouldn't appreciate the attention (already noticing Liara's reserved nature but I digress). "No fun, Commander!" is the response from Ashley, and it's that tiny sliver I take much of my Ashley from for my musings. The older sister who would tease her siblings, jibe them about their boyfriends but with affection. As her own father was often away, also a military man, Ashley says she did a lot to help bring them up as well.
I did find it a little disappointing that some couldn't see beyond their initial assessment, as there's a lot more to the now Spectre Ashley Williams than just a few off-hand comments.
NB: 'Kaiden'. That's as much as the he is able to get from me. I never did a play through where Ashley didn't survive Virmire. Sorry!
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