From my point of view, both the women and men had different problems, but by the end, the women were thriving and had such an abundance of food/water, that they began decorating their camp.
Spoilers below
Both camps had to have people taken off due to injury or illness.
But the men had three guys leave by choice early on. Another guy had to be taken off due to an injury to his arm. The two women who left, only left because they were too sick to go on.
Initial Problems: The men's problem was macho infighting to the point that two of their most valuable people left the island out of spite, and another out of homesickness This infighting was a major issue throughout the season for the men.
The women made the mistake of splitting up half the group and getting lost. It took them two days to get back together again.
Fire: The women were able to start a fire using the wooded rod with string method almost immediately and were successful multiple times. So much so that they wore it out and had to ask for another one from the supply team. Yes, they needed help from Bear Grylls team, but it was from over use of a valuable skill.
The men never figured out how to create fire from the wooden rod/string method and had to use someone's reading glasses to start the fire. They had to make sure the fire never went out, since it was the rainy season and no one would be able to use a magnifier on a cloudy day.
Water: The women did have an issue where they used one of their metal water cans to store pig meat. Which made the can stink when the meat rotted. Because their water intake was so low, they had to send urine samples back to the base camp. Base camp told them, they had to use the second can or be pulled off the island. So they did, and the problem was solved. There was no rescue involved here.
Fishing: Women were using the net from the start and were able to catch some fish, but it wasn't until they decided to elect two leaders, that they directed themselves to catch an abundance of fish, to the point that they had an excess.
The men kept fighting over who was doing the least amount of work, and started using the net only after someone had to prove it worked. But they never caught enough fish to keep the men from starving.
The men were essentially starving the entire season. Only by the end did they catch a relatively large pig to hold them over till they were taken off the island.
But the women had fishing with a net down to a science and had no issue with food by the end, they absolutely could have survived for much longer on the island, than the men by that point.
Spoilers below
Both camps had to have people taken off due to injury or illness.
But the men had three guys leave by choice early on. Another guy had to be taken off due to an injury to his arm. The two women who left, only left because they were too sick to go on.
Initial Problems: The men's problem was macho infighting to the point that two of their most valuable people left the island out of spite, and another out of homesickness This infighting was a major issue throughout the season for the men.
The women made the mistake of splitting up half the group and getting lost. It took them two days to get back together again.
Fire: The women were able to start a fire using the wooded rod with string method almost immediately and were successful multiple times. So much so that they wore it out and had to ask for another one from the supply team. Yes, they needed help from Bear Grylls team, but it was from over use of a valuable skill.
The men never figured out how to create fire from the wooden rod/string method and had to use someone's reading glasses to start the fire. They had to make sure the fire never went out, since it was the rainy season and no one would be able to use a magnifier on a cloudy day.
Water: The women did have an issue where they used one of their metal water cans to store pig meat. Which made the can stink when the meat rotted. Because their water intake was so low, they had to send urine samples back to the base camp. Base camp told them, they had to use the second can or be pulled off the island. So they did, and the problem was solved. There was no rescue involved here.
Fishing: Women were using the net from the start and were able to catch some fish, but it wasn't until they decided to elect two leaders, that they directed themselves to catch an abundance of fish, to the point that they had an excess.
The men kept fighting over who was doing the least amount of work, and started using the net only after someone had to prove it worked. But they never caught enough fish to keep the men from starving.
The men were essentially starving the entire season. Only by the end did they catch a relatively large pig to hold them over till they were taken off the island.
But the women had fishing with a net down to a science and had no issue with food by the end, they absolutely could have survived for much longer on the island, than the men by that point.