Pudding's data-driven analysis of women's jeans pockets compares 32" waist jeans for men and women from a variety of brands and uses various common cellphones as a benchmark; the conclusion will not surprise you.
Bottom line: "On average, the pockets in women’s jeans are 48% shorter and 6.5% narrower than men’s pockets."
If you want to know which jeans are least terrible, by all means, check out the interactive chart on Pudding that lets you compare brands. But they're all terrible. Really, really terrible.
For women, it was (and still is) about equality. Pockets, unlike purses, are hidden, private spaces. By restricting the space in which women can keep things safe and retain mobility of both hands, we are also restricting their ability to “navigate public spaces, to carry seditious (or merely amorous) writing, or to travel unaccompanied.” If you think this idea is outdated, think about the last time a woman asked her boyfriend/male friend/anyone in men’s pants to carry her phone/wallet/keys on an outing.
Women's Pockets are Inferior. [Jan Diehm & Amber Thomas/Pudding]
