To me, I don't see it as a gender thing but I see it as being driven by 2 primal instincts and that is greed and survival. The totem pole was set long before you and I came to be and those who managed to get the most for themselves want to remain that way and preserve the status quo

I'll give you an example, the woman who wants to break out and become a powerful person almost always sheds their nurturing side and assimilated a lot of the masculine features of being a leader, its not to say you cannot be a nurturing leader but they gravitate to what has made male leaders lead, thus preserving the status quo

The Asian or African wanting to break into the corporate field has to shed their language and culture to assimilate to be accepted and thus preserve the status quo

As someone that lived in a time without freedom and in a time where we got civil rights, I can tell you its a major learning curve and it takes years to understand what freedom means and how to use it. Yes, woman and ethnic minorities are more free now, but give them time and let them figure out their own path.

Just my 2 cents