Do female offenders get of easier then their male counterparts?

Over the course of history this question has been asked many times, and there are varying opinions on the subject.  When looking at decided cases throughout history, it is no uncommon to see a man and a women charged for the same crime, but for some reason or another, the man ends up with a harsher sentence.  Why do we as a society tend to down play offenses committed by women but then condemn those by men? In my opinion there are two main rationales behind this: the perception of women and their children.

When discussing attributes of women, it is common to hear the words affectionate, sensitive, compassionate, or even gentle.  Although few, or in some occasions, none of these traits can be used to describe the women who commit crimes, especially the women who commit murder.  Why do we find in cases involving women that these mannerisms are still seen as true to such dangerous women, some more unsafe than their male counterparts?  The bottom line for jurors or judges is that there needs to be a central focus on the crime committed and not be influenced by the gender of the offender.

The second rationale behind the reality of women offenders getting off easier is the issue of children.  Unfortunately we find that many of these women committing crimes have at least one child that they provide for if not more.  In many of these cases the female offender is the sole provider for the family, and in many case the only parent around, there is no father or other type of family for the courts or child services to custody to.  This demonstrates as a major dilemma because offender is locked up, regardless for how long, the courts then need to find an appropriate living situation for the children and more likely than not the end up in a group home or some sort of foster care.  Obviously these situations are not ideal for the children.  The courts also find this to be a poor solution as well.  Most times, depending on the severity of the crime, the courts/judges will allow female offenders immediate probation instead of time in the county jail or prison.  While this decision may please the defendant and allow the courts to move on to the next case, it does not fix the actual problem.  When these women are not punished properly it fails to deter the offender and also other women who may commit crimes in the future.  Being a male it is kind of eye opening to think about this because, there are times when women say that men have more privilages and allowed more things.  Here is one aspect of the world where in my opinion women are given a break when men usually get the book thrown at them.  I think the role of gender is just as big of a problem as race in the american criminal justice system.

Here is my question for you, do you believe that women offenders get off easier then male offenders, or is it just a coincidence? Also, how do you think we can solve the problem?