I seem to recall reading in Bax's the fraud of feminism about how women had an inclination towards seeing the smaller picture, and were less likely to sacrifice their resources for others than men were; and this is why men made better leaders (of both the household and the state). Of course, many of Belfort Bax's ideas would be instantly ridiculed if presented today, but it would be interesting to see a study on the ratio of men who helped the feminine cause VS women who helped the male cause. I really think this would reveal some things about the altruism of both genders--of course the womens' movement would be nowhere if it weren't for men in the first place--but i can't say that this would necessarily be innate, it could just be a result of the social expectation.

of course this also greatly ties into chivalry.