Men and women are not equal. For one thing/person/idea to be equal to another, they have to be perfectly identical. There are no two people (regardless of gender) who are equal.
What is the point of pointing out that men and women are not equal if first and foremost no two people are equal to begin with? What practical benefit does a society gain from acknowledging that on average men and women are better in certain spheres if exceptions exist anyway and those exceptions should ideally be able to pursue whatever they feel like pursuing?
"Being equal" is not identical with "Being identical". If two people have the same rights, they are equal regarding the jurisdiction, but they are still not identical. "Equal" means being worth the same, not being the same.
The benefit of acknowledging that people are not identical is, that the society, for example at school, can try to identify their true strengths. Identifying the true strength makes it possible to find the fitting role. Forcing someone to do something he neither likes nor can do very well, will never give a good turnout. Someone who would be good a piloting a fighter jet not necessarly would be good at teaching.
