Delt Alum!!! When we start talking about the CIVIL WAR in order to put things in perspective, it makes me think I'd better get my will in order and line up the pall bearers!!!
Opportunity is another thing entirely. I suspect that many families did not allow daughters to attend college because they didn't think it worthwhile. My Mom was "allowed" to attend
a Catholic girls college for 2 years. Then she was pulled home because her brother was old enough to attend and as you suggested, they assumed she would get married and have kids. This was rather rare for a small, agricultural community.
In fact I was the second, after my uncle, to get my degree. Women were watching all those movies and TV programs that showed Marriage to your HS sweetheart the day after graduation. It was the standard media spin as I recall.
At U of Houston, I couldn't say what the numbers were.(Heck, I didn't even bother going to my graduation ceremony) There wasn't a shortage of women though. However, there were GROSS disparities between the individual colleges, like college of architecture vs college of education.
We do have the organization, AAUCW (American Assoc. of University Women) that I joined when I first moved here and there were over 30 members in their 40's and up. It was a boring group, so I'm sure many who could have joined took a pass.