While I agree with everyone here, I would like to point out that women are portrayed in a variety of manners, from motherly homebody to something akin to a demi-goddess.

LOTR have been criticised for its paucity of female characters...which is true. If you take a look at how many male vs. female characters are within the book. There's no doubt about that. But the female characters are so multi-faceted, strong, and true in their own way.

Also, in fantasy (especially early fantasy) women were often little more than trophies. Just look at "Conan" or heaven forbid the "Gor" series to see what I mean. In Tolkien's works, women are active and part of the landscape as people.