Ubiq,
To answer your second answer’s question (I know sounds a little confusing) those rabbanim didn’t want the PC police coming after them and make their life miserable
A good example is the story of קמצא ובר קמצא but over here it doesn’t matter so much if they hold women’s suffrage or not because it’s already done with
In other words if you asked them 200 years ago they wouldn’t be afraid of saying no