I am a woman myself, but I don't date men or have much interaction with them, but I do speak to women, and when I speak to many women, they say that what they want from men is commitment from the man. When I delve deeper into what they mean by this, it seems like they are looking for assurance that he will protect her and provide for her, so it is similar to a secure job that provides a stable income. There is a regular and consistent supply of power and protection or monetary resources.

However, this can be problematic for women especially when they have children. Because of ingrained gender roles in society, men do not want to look after children because it is deemed feminine and so the job usually falls on the woman. When a woman looks after a child, she cannot work, which means she cannot get money (and therefore power) from an employer for herself, which means she is dependent on the man for that regular supply of money/power/resources.

When a woman is financially dependent on a man, she is vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse. To a degree, divorce laws helps to even the playing field. When a woman has a baby and looks after it, her power/money is low whereas the man's power/money is high, so the man can get away with physical and sexual abuse due to the power difference. However, divorce laws ensure that approximately half of a man's future earnings or wealth belongs to the woman. The threat of divorce can be enough to make the man think twice before he engages in physical or sexual abuse.

So basically commitment seems to hold woman back because if a woman gets commitment from a man, she becomes financially dependent on him, and the man can use his financial power to abuse the woman. However, divorce laws help to alleviate this power imbalance.