A Lot Of Tradition, Old And New
I echo tradition on several fronts as well. First, the historical tradition is that the "magician" is a male and has a (or several) female "assistant(s)". Especially back in the early days of the grand stage shows (and given the prejudices/inequalities that existed at the time) with females being viewed as the "weaker" sex, it undoubtedly played into the ability to shape an audience's perception that a "lowly female" really is just "doing her duty" by assisting the "headlining star" male and not doing anything sneaky. That same "headlining star" could then freely use that fact to the act's advantage when it came to both method and misdirection i.e., an audience being more likely to watch a female in a showy costume move, dance, etc. than they would a male. (I actually wouldn't be surprised to learn that many magical couples at this time were actually, if not secretly, more progressive in their views of the equality of the sexes than the majority of people.)
Nowadays it seems that magic is appealing even more to the "geeks" of the world ... and geeks still tend to be male. "Geek" is of course meant in the nicest way possible: folks who really and seriously get into like things like video games, computers, books, sci fi, math, science, art, etc. at far deeper levels than the masses. Folks who are far more inquisitive, intellectual, and studious than the average person. Are there female "geeks?" Sure. It's just that females in general typically have other (and/or broader) interests. Oddly enough, some of us male geeks (and I'm speaking solely about myself at this point, although I bet there's at least one or two others out there) who have discovered that magic is not only a phenomenal discipline worthy of lifetime study in its own right, but it is also something that can be used for the exact same purposes as poetry according to a certain Professor Keating </thinly veiled movie reference>.
I think it's sad that it's still male dominated, but at the same time it presents a tremendous opportunity for female magicians. And it's time we see some (more?) female close-up artists. Can you imagine the reputation and the following that a stellar and actively performing female close-up artist could garner?