We noticed that it was quite common to see reserved tables in restaurants be for bookings of either ladies only, or men only - to the point where you noticed a pattern. Different weeknights, different restaurants, groups of 4-10. Initially, due to it being December & the pre-Xmas timing, we thought it must have been an office group of friends, or perhaps a festive get-together type activity with friends they hadn't seen all year or a similar reasoning.
When this pattern continued into January it gave me pause to make enquiries from my local sources.
It turns out, since the early 1990's here when women began to have some earning power, the custom developed for regular single-gender only outings, weekly in fact. Those satisfying 'girls night out' occasions we're used to occasionally happen weekly here. For both sexes. Same night usually. Though it is scheduled according to the commitments of the particular group, the 2 most popular nights are wednesday & thursday. Plus it's a fairly entrenched practice I'm told, encouraged by both genders, & always outside the home. The general opinion is that it is healthy for their personal relationships to have a sympathetic outlet to share their builtup frustrations with. Plus they get to compare notes without protest. Can't disagree with that!!
On many weekends, often the same group will gather - both genders & kids attending - for a get-together at somebody's house from the group, usually around an 'asado', a traditional bar-b-que. These mid-week gatherings negate the need for all those 'side bar' conversations we are accustomed to at such social gatherings.
The Argentine custom is the better I believe.
Same thing in Quebec. Thursday night is Girl's Night Out. The restaurants are packed with groups of women though, not so much the older ones. The guys usually congregate at some-one's home to watch a hockey/soccer game. They're supposed to be watching the kids, but the kids usually get to run wild, from what I hear.
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