This matches my experience in IT: sometimes recruiters prefer to hire a girl, even if less qualified, just for sake of having a girl in the team, because it is "improving the morale" :)
The people who reviewed and approved the designs for our office space were all males. Guess what they forgot to put in the women's restrooms? When women complained, they put an open trash can next to the toilet with no lid...
The problem with the whole conversation around this topic is everyone pretending that women and men on average have the same level of skills and experience as each other. Then they act shocked when there are so few qualified male nurses or female mechanics.
Businesses only care about this topic, because it helps them design products and provide services that address a wider market. So, maybe they should just admit they don't always hire the absolute technically best candidate as the goal is to improve the social structure of the team.