Did we really just read someone suggesting that women are not participating as much in the mailing list -- with the more-than-subtle suggestion of the cause being that they didn't feel this group is completely woman-friendly -- and your response was to "remind us" what the point of this group is about? Did I misunderstand your email?
We're all here for the same goal, but some of us experience this problem differently than others, and some appear to have gone frustrated and annoyed and are not participating as much as they used to. That's a problem. That's not something we should ignore. And we should figure out why it happens (because it seemed to have happened to more than just two arguing women) and how to make sure it is getting better.
Here's my (shocking) suggestion, as a starting point, at least in this mailing list, to make things a tad better for women to participate in:
In a group about the gender gap, men should attempt to take a step back.
That is *not* to say they shouldn't participate: they absolutely should. But they should understand that the dynamic between the genders is so unbalanced, that at least in a group dedicated to the issue, they should take extra care to listen, not be confrontational, and overall to not sound like they are overtaking the conversation, making assumptions or generalizations.
The discussions would be a lot more productive, and women may feel a lot less frustrated -- and choose to share more of their experiences with the rest of the group which might actually bring us to consider solutions.
And who knows, maybe we'll even have *one* space where women don't feel like they need to constantly defend the "reasons" for their experiences and feelings or be worried of the harassment that is otherwise a pretty usual experience.