I kind of think the authors own bias is showing through here. There is a prize for women not because women are thought to be any less capable, but because they

I kind of think the authors own bias is showing through here. There is a prize for women not because women are thought to be any less capable, but because they are thought to be equally capable. If they were less capable they wouldn't be under-represented, and there would be no reason to encourage more women to compete.