What are some gender issues in "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne?

One of the primary gender issues is the fact that Hester is the only one thoroughly persecuted for her actions. If my memory serves correct, they attempted to discover who the child's father was, but when Hester wouldn't talk they easily gave up. And even if they HAD found Dimmesdale early on, his fate probably wouldn't have been anywhere near as severe as Hester's.