Plus, so many women don't expect their S.O or date to pay for everything. In my past relationships I was the one who payed for everything. In my current one we both will either switch off when paying for dates, or we just end up paying for our own things.
Even then, as you said, that doesn't even make for a solid argument of why men would have it harder. You don't pay for things for your S.O because you have to, you do it because you should want to. If you do it because you feel like you'll be rewarded for it, then you're just an asshat.