Not that I can claim a wide or deep knowledge. But round our way, women seem to be more likely to be the singers, and men seem more likely to be the musicians. So women performing will often be accompanied by a man, whereas the bloke will often be performing solo. Maybe because it's kind of easier to get away with being a bad singer behind a good guitar (cf. Bob Dylan et al) than to be a good singer behind a bad guitar, and even more so than singing unaccompanied which really takes balls (or the female equivalent ;-)

Graham.