It seems to me like you work in industries that are less attractive to women, hence the overall issue being raised here. But your experience doesn't even come close to reflecting mine. I'm in the design industry where women outnumber men, albeit by a slim margin. Of the roughly 15 project managers I've worked under only two have been men. Amongst clients, which have ranged from small businesses, to universities, to large corporations, there's been a balanced mix of men and women in middle management. Within specific departments, however, women are sometimes the overwhelming majority.
In terms of work-life balance, things seem comparable too, at least right up to the point that people start raising a family. Then woman take far more time off than men for family obligations, and typically it's unquestioningly worked into their weekly schedule. And that's when they aren't taking days off outright. It's already hard enough for a man to simply get out of work on time, let alone get approval for leaving early.
In fact, I'm currently working with a project manager who leaves at 3pm every day and what that means is she's completely out of touch until the next morning. This, inevitably ends up being detrimental to the rest of the team. The rest of us have to pick up the slack in one way or another. Sometimes it's making decisions independently of her and hoping the client doesn't throw a wrench in the process, other times it's delaying progress until she's back in. Its to a point where you have to question why the company even wastes money on this individual. The money spent there would be better served hiring another designer and just having the team interact more directly with the client.
Now, the interesting thing is that I recently heard one of the reasons why female average salaries are lower is specifically because they tend to take more time off. But people will look at the numbers, see that women earn less than men and draw incorrect conclusions from that.
This doesn't mean they aren't competent. There are always exceptions, but female managers are generally as effective as males and easier to work with. I've found them to be more open-minded and less likely to micromanage. But I do think that in striving for equality we've overcompensated, creating a bit of an unfair playing field.