Capt Waffles explained it perfectly. This has been explained in-depth in lore (especially in the Marasenna lore book). There were/are very few Awoken males, because most of the passengers of the Exodus Green were female, so the Awoken developed a matriarchal society and protected the men. Men are a minority and protected by the females because of it, but they are still treated equally and have equal opportunity. Uldren and Hallam Fen are excellent examples of the rare men rising in rank.