why are there "women-only" events?

I'm confused. Chess is chess. I don't see how gender possibly matters, except for the photo op. Why are there "women-only" events?

Some very forward thinkers got together around 300 BC to debate women in chess.  It had recently been realized that women could be trained to walk upright and mimic simple speech.  With some grooming and a hose, they were almost passable as a human man.

Some of the brighter females kept at the national female reserve were able to set up a board correctly and it was determined that they may benefit from female-only tournaments.

Of course today it seems rather crude, but you have to understand it was impossible to foresee where we'd be today, a few thousand years in the future, where female individuals are not only literate, but are able to participate in human society nearly as much as men.

So we've kept this very old, and very important tradition.

Sometimes girls just like to do their own thing, brah.  There are female only gyms and female only libraries too.  Just allow it, brah, let mother nature do her thing, man.

For practical reasons. Some day the top female players will be as good as top male, and probably the elimination of competitions only for women would accelerate the proccess. But meanwhile they need their own room. Certain regional Spanish federation once simply eliminated the tournaments only for women and all of them complained.

"But meanwhile they need their own room."

I don't really think so to be honest. They just have to win their games like the rest of us.

"female only libraries"

lol, those exist? That would be an odd one.

Yeah, if you want to be a twelve year old boy who is not a virgin, you must support women's only events.

Not being able to figure this out is not something to be proud of

                If there was NO  "women only" events,.........then there would be NO  MAN-CAVE