Women in Aikido

If you do a search on this, you find almost nothing. I might try at some point to compile some information about the most famous female Aikidoka, but until then feel free to check out the poll this week! Can women get just as good or even better than man in Aikido? As for my side, I can observe that we have a considerable advantage. While my fellow male colleagues from the dojo sometimes try to solve techniques with raw force, women are obliged to observe the subtleties in order to put the uke to the ground. It is true that women started practicing martial arts much later then men. It is also true that most martial arts are competing and scare the female audience away. However I know that people who really study what martial arts are about, clearly realize that there should be no gender separation while training. At our dojo there is a tendency to separates on genders while training. I am not sure if this is the best approach. Maybe for a beginner practitioner it is more comfortable. As for myself I try to look for male counterparts most of the time because it is there where I can truly see if my technique really works.