handmaid tale scenarios still operate in different places of the world...in islamic countries, some mormon sects, and very ultra conservative societies, where women are just seen as inferior to do whatever males want them to do, even if they dont want to, even if they die doing so.
if they try and do things males do, they are accused of stealing the males jobs. Even when it turns out that some are capable if not more so.
I know of women who are engineers, and they are brilliant, but in such a male dominated profession, they are harassed and put down for being female.
it used to be like that for doctors too. as if women couldnt practise medicine, when theyd been doing so quietly for thousands of years previous. Its because the 'old boys clubs' didnt let women in obviously.
This means theres lots of 'womens groups' because women are excluded from having a say in everything else. women couldnt even vote in some countries, though policies affect both men and women.