Why do Females in education get more oppurtunity for scholarships?

Having just applied for scholarships Ive noticed there are a lot more aimed specifically at females rather than males. Why? Are women financially handicapped? Participation is not an issue in my country (NZ) there are more women than men in tertiary education. Are they somewhat mentally hindered? Im really struggling to understand why i couldn't be as qualified for one of these grants as a uni student.