This was the first year the Grammy specifically made "rock" categories. Prior to that, any rock n'roll records merely competed with the "general" pop awards (and still would after the creation of this category).
Women in general were rarely considered "rock" singers pre-1980 by the press and even the fans. Rock music was usually considered a boy's club. Janis Joplin and Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane arguably were the only ones usually acknowledged as actually being "rock". This began to change in the 1980's with Pat Benatar (and more so in the 1990's with Melissa Etheridge and others) and in the 1980's Tina Turner, Madonna, and Cyndi Lauper were considered rock singers but they were really as mainstream pop (except perhaps for Tina) as the women before them.
I'm not saying that's a bad thing it's just that in the "Rock Female Vocal Category" more often than not the women who would get nominated were pop, soul, and occasionally country16d0 singers who rocked out on a single or an album track because the few women who really did hard rock usually weren't that popular and were few and far between. I personally think the "barriers" were too restricting and there's no reason why Donna Summer or Linda Ronstadt or others shouldn't be considered rock as well as pop, soul, disco, whatever.

I only know Cindy Bullens (I spelled it wrong) from the movie soundtrack to Grease. She was one of those rock-critic darlings who went nowhere. It is said her debut album, Desire Wire is one of rock & roll's lost classics. I saw it was available on itunes and I listened to "Survivor". It's not bad, like the type of song that would b5b4e on a movie soundtrack like Fast Times at Ridgemont High or The Breakfast Club. Cindy is still making music and on her last 2010 release her voice has deepened a bit and she reminds me of Rosanne Cash. But Hot Stuff was def more rocking!
Rickie Lee Jones had won Best New Artist the year before. She was in a class with Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Tom Waits (whom she dated) and they were all most def considered "rock" in the late 70's early 80's and were filed under "rock" in record stores. Singer/Songwriters all of them, but not really folk anymore. Rickie is the only female I wouldn't mind if she won I love her a lot too!
Point of fact tho, the Grammys rarely ever got the noms or winners right. Mostly older white guys back then voting on whatever names they knew in catagories they never listened to. They basically picked acts they heard people talk about a lot that year, or names they knew. The first year they had a Best Heavy Metal album Jethro Tull won! I remember a full page ad in Billboard magazine the following week where Capitol Records congratulated them. It was a big muscled arm flexing holding a flute in his fist. The caption read "The flute is a Metal instrument"!!!

Never heard of Bullins.
As for Jones and Simon - I think they would be considered more folk-music than rock, and Raitt and Tucker would be considered more country. Summer, of course, was considered more disco.
I bet Summer is the only black female to win for a rock category?
Paul Ryan's proposal is a budget that goes against the teachings of Jesus.

Both! For years there was only a Best Rock Vocal Performance which usually consisted of 4 men and 1 woman. There was never a female (as far as I know) to win that catagory. In 1980 the Grammys added the Best Rock Vocal Performance Female catagory and Donna won for HOT STUFF.
I have to say her competition wasn't that tough. Other noms were Cindy Bullins "Survivor", Rickie Lee Jones "Last Chance Texaco", Bonnie Raitt "You're Gonna Get What's Coming", Carly Simon "Vengence" and Tanya Tucker "T.N.T.". Though surely Bonnie Raitt and Carly Simon were bigger "rock" names.