I am reading a wonderful book by Phillip Lancaster called which talks about a return to biblical fatherhood, and how this can positively impact the family, and society at large. While I know that this idea rubs a great many the wrong way, God did set up an order of things in the garden. While man was given a task (subdue the garden and rule over it), woman was also given a role (to be his helper). Woman was to be submissive to the headship God granted man.
The problem we have in our current culture is that we mistake headship (i.e. authority) has something to do with quality or the value of a human being. And being in the society in which we now live in, this is generally true. But the reality is that man was called to a position of authority simply because God wanted it that way. Insofar as value is concerned, the New Testament states it correctly: all are equal in the sight of God. (Col. 3:11) But authority is not a measure of greater value.
Just like in the real world, authority is sometimes given to those who may not be the best qualified to wield it. Likewise, sometimes authority is removed from those who are less qualified in order to best accomplish a task. Authority, or headship, is simply a chain of command, and a chain of culpability.
God has ordained this chain of command in the family: God, Christ, husband, wife, family-at-large. Does this mean that a wife is a lesser being than a husband? Of course not! But a woman was not created to lead, to make decisions, to steer the course of the family. That is not to say that they can't make decisions, or lead, or steer the course. But they weren't created to do so. That was given to the husband, not because he is the best for the job by reason of his value, but because men were created to be task-oriented, to get the job done. Women were created to fill a supporting role, because they are much better at doing that than men.
Headship doesn't mean better, any more than submission means inferior. It just is a way to get things done in the most efficient way.
