Why have there been fewer great women than men in history?

In many countries, for many years, patriarchal societies have been the accepted way of life. In a patriarchal society women are to stay at home and raise children rather than, work, fight, and in some cases even learn. This long accepted convention has made many women not want to leave the home until recent years. There are fewer great women than men only because women have had either fewer opportunities or have chosen not to leave the domestic domain. I say there is nothing wrong with that though, because without great moms where would we be?