It probably goes back those many years when the females of the species were near disregarded other than as adornment for the male or the 'keeper of the chldren'. All the learned persons were males to the virtual exclusion of the fairer sex. Blame it on the church, even !
That has changed in the last century (Emily P, a couple of world wars and a 'grudging' acceptance that women were as good as, and often better than, men for many tasks) but, even now, still not totally adopted (sexual equality), even today.
There will always be differences between the sexes regarding physical ability, but that is less important these days (for beekeeping) with the variety of hive types becoming available. One area might have been the ability, or otherwise, of the ladies becoming carpenters (much of the hardware was homemade, I would think until the standardisation of a near-century ago). Very few ladies drove motor cars a 100 years ago (nor so many men either!).
All these things (and probably lots of others) have skewed the craft towards the males.
Hopefully it will become equal or the other way around. For a start we need more bees! Secondly the ladies can do it just as well as men. Some may now be better off, from a 'time available' consideration, for hobbies like beekeeping and a lot of 'utility' hobbies (sewing, knitting,cooking) have become less favoured.
Oh, and with only one bee suit around, the children had to be watched, and kept well away from the hives while inspecting.
I am sure there are an increasing number of female gardeners these days too, although I suspect that during the war periods there were far more women gardening than men.
It might be interesting to know how the hive numbers changed during the war periods and who were the keepers.
Hope this gives you a few ideas to consider.
Regards, RAB