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I would not agree that women have stayed silent on the topic of saddle issues. In fact it was a push from women through the Women's Commission that helped begin the process of addressing existing UCI saddle regulations at the time with saddle tilt/angle being the focus to address health concerns. I know this because I was very involved in that process and I authored a proposal that was voted on and accepted by saddle companies who are members of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry and recommended to the UCI which then adopted 2 of the 3 recommended changes and are now the existing regulations. So women have a voice and a powerful one at which has been used resulting in benefits for everyone. Also, one of the most powerful people in the industry started and owns the company that manufactures a significant number of saddles (branded mostly for other companies) that are put on bikes each year is a woman and no man in the industry who knows anything would risk dismissing her! But, I would agree that more women riding and becoming part of the industry is a good thing.
Since most men and women are not obligated to follow UCI regulations why does it matter? There are a lot of issues involved like any complex situation from the economics of the industry, design and testing regulations (EN and ISO standards) to technical/fit needs and even just tradition and what people are used too. I think saddles have gotten a significant amount of research over the last 20+ years first for men but also for women but one of the problems that arises is viewing saddles (or bikes) as built for men or for women. A large number of men would be better served on a saddle marketed as a women's model just as some women are optimally matched to what is considered a men's saddle. Ultimately, you have to treat the individual cyclist (male or female) and get everything right in the equation to achieve the optimal experience and that includes saddle dimension, padding level, style of riding, correct placement in the context of a correct fit, time for the body to adapt and just plane old personal preferences by the rider. Are there too many models available today? That depends on whether or not you have found the saddle that works for you? Once you have what you like do the other thousands of models available matter, probably not for you but those other models allow other riders to find what works best for them and how they like to ride. With that said, I do this for a living and still find it impossible to know every model and the near constant changes made to models by some companies.
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