What does scout mean when she says i know what he was trying to do but Atticus was only a man it takes a woman to do that kind of work?

Keep in mind when this book was written- 1960- it was a different era then. Atticus was the man of the house- responsible for earning the money, doing his job and protecting his household, not raising the children, per se.

Because Jem and Scout had been mostly raised by their African-American maid/nanny Calpurnia, and because Atticus did not spend much (what we would call) "quality" time with them, they did not get a true understanding of their family history and their family's place in Maycomb's history. In those days, the mother would dispense such knowledge of family history. In this chapter, Aunt Alexandra was trying to fill this role. However, she did so with her own frame of reference, not one that would suit Atticas' mind.

Because of Atticus' personality and the situation he found himself in concerning the trial, he understood that such things as family standing in a community were not worth as much as one's personal character. Atticus may have been half-heartedly trying to instill a sense of family pride, but I think what he really wanted was to help Scout and Jem understand that it was alright for them to develop their own understanding of their place in their community, and what is the proper behavior (such as when he had them visit Mrs. Dubose after assaulting her garden).

What was Atticus trying to do? He was trying to help the children behave well. Why would it take a woman to do it? In those days, the early 1960's, it was considered "women's work" to raise the children to have good manners.