Who gives? Do women make the best Humanists?

I find myself more interested in reading other people's blogs than writing my own, but this blog still provides me with a useful tool to track the progression of my thoughts and attitudes.  It really doesn't matter if nobody reads my posts, or if I repeat myself.  This is mostly so that I can capture some of my thoughts before they evaporate.  Anyway, I digress. To the subject in mind:

Last weekend I spent hours standing outside a supermarket collecting for the local Air Ambulance.  The supermarket serves a mostly affluent local population who predominantly vote Conservative or Liberal.  The thing that struck me was that probably 95% of those giving donations were female, and of those the vast majority were certainly over 50 years old.  By contrast, most men, of all ages, went out of their way to avoid me, and slunk by into the store.  This is also in line with previous experiences.

Why is this?  I can't empirically prove the answer, but perhaps these women are better able to empathise with those in need, and to feel their need, even though they have no direct relationship or benefit from helping these unknown people.

Perhaps I should come back to this having thought some more on it.