Representation and authority: men seem to be the norm for representing their community, fitting a pattern from Adam to Christ to priests.

Mike suggests representation naturally fits with authority. Men are the representatives of their community — Adam represents mankind, Jesus as a man represents all mankind, the high priest represents Israel. In most situations society looks to men as representatives. This doesn't have to be the case in every instance but seems to be the norm, consistent with other scriptural patterns. This is soft evidence toward a soft complementarian view.