I'm afraid that this post won't please many people, but I prefer to be
sincere with my thoughts. In my opinion, the women gap has its real
roots in the capitalist system. Who created it, but men? Capitalism is
the spitting image of men's mentality. In the beginning of times, men
probably used to go hunting and women tried to raise the family, men tried to
defend the tribe against other tribes and/or animals, and women stayed
at home (cave). That's why, nowadays, men are a bit aggressive and
women a bit collaborative by nature.
The problem is that women didn't take part in the creation of the
economical system. Economy rules the world, so it's impossible not to
expect its effects on every detail of our lives. The only solution for
women to adapt to that situation was to play men roles, i.e., to be
competitive and try to get to the top, and that's the situation we
have at the present moment. Women are trying to compete, but it's not
in their nature to compete, but collaborate, so many of them stay
behind, not for their intelligence, but for their way to see the
world.
You have a good example of how to collaborate and succed in the
Chinese society. Ask Chinese people, and they'll tell you that they
never compete, they help each others. Probably, woman took part in
the creation of that economical system.
Regards
Miguel Angel