Normally her boy characters are kind and caring - Jack and Philip are kind, nature-loving boys who look after their sisters, Julian is sensible and looks out for Anne, Dick is fun and loves a joke, Roger looks after Diana and Barney looks out for all of them, Andy looks out for Jill and Mary, Jack and Mike are kind to Nora and Peggy, etc etc, but Peter is so very different from all these other boys!
I wonder if, when Peter delegates the 'important' jobs to the boys, it is because he is thinking about the girls' safety, or whether he just thinks that girls aren't good enough to do the really important things!
In The Secret Seven, Jack suggests going to the house to watch who arrives at night, but he says it in a way that makes out that he is caring about the girls and not wanting them to be frightened -
But then when Pam asks if they can go too, Peter puts his foot down"I've thought of something." said Jack at last. "It's a bit frightening though. We couldn't let the girls into it."
and sounds rather pompous!"Can't we girls come too?" asked Pam.
"I don't want to!" said Barbara.
"Well you can't come, anyhow." said Peter. "That's absolutely certain. Boys only are in the performance tonight!"
