James, I think perhaps women in the US today are more career-oriented in the past, and this may attribute to their "lack of relationship skills" as you so put it..or that they sometimes don't have a relationship as priority #1.
If we think back to the "traditional" American dream (circa 1950) it would probably be that common nuclear family..i.e., having a husband, wife, 2 kids, and a dog in a nice little white picket-fenced house and 2 cars. The shift towards present day goals is more "success" oriented, being well off and later on being able to provide for a family. I know for a lot of girls my age, career/success is priority one, then starting a family so that we're stable and able to provide for ourselves, not be dependent on a man/relationship. I know I most definitely plan to be graduated with college before marriage, and be stable in my career before bringing children into the world. Relationships are *not* my number one priority.
Just my 2 cents
