What does this mean The pedestal upon which women have been placed has all too often upon closer inspection been revealed as a cage?

It means that often times women are held back and suppressed using a rhetoric of empowerment. For example - saying that a woman shouldn't have to work a certain job because it would be too dangerous may initially seem like it is treating a woman with respect and elevating her above that job, but it instead serves to disempower the woman as fragile and limits her opportunity to complete certain tasks.