Concur. I’ve been looking to buy a handgun for my soon to be wife for when I’m overseas, and we have been renting different guns at the local indoor range to see what she can handle.
She’s a 5 foot 2 inch Asian, and she can handle a .45 just fine. I seriously doubt that PC issues with females had anything to do with the M9 decision.
My wife is 5”1” and prefers that calibre: I have never seen her miss.