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Who would have thought that no-one could answer your simple question?

kathleen kennedy herself said that she specifically wanted a female lead character - because she is openly feminist and that she specifically wants more females in film. She also stated that she specifically hired more female writers than male (4f, 2m) in order for them to write rey's character from a female's point of view.

"It's not just about casting female protagonists. It's gotta be across the board throughout the industry."

"Four of the six people in the story department are women,” she says. “So there were as many women sitting in the room having those discussions as there were men. I think that, in and of itself, is what really began to help [Rey] take shape in a way that was relevant to us. And hopefully relevant to other women seeing the film."

Her maths is pretty ordinary if she thinks 4 and 2 are 'equal'...

"They are really, really making a huge effort across the company to put more focus around casting women and putting women in positions of responsibility, with directing and various other positions inside, different lines of business in the company,"

KK on specifically looking for directors based on their gender:
"We want to make sure that when we bring a female director to do Star Wars, they're set up for success."

The answer is that sexism is alive and well in Hollywood.

So you claimed you had your own answer to this question, did you ever post it?

Flippant answer - For the same reason Lando Calrissian needed to be black in ESB.
Cynical answer - Disney wished to reach a different demographic, since the Star Wars fan base has been traditionally been male dominated.
Zen like answer - To bring balance (to the Force); Kylo & Rey mirroring Luke & Leia, thus reinforcing the parallels & recurring themes that can be drawn between the original trilogy and the new one.
Depressing answer - To tick the diversity box - selecting casts by committee is sadly the norm now.
Upbeat answer - To provide a positive role model for girls.
Sad truth answer - To push gender politics.
Ponderous answer - Maybe the writer stuck to writing what they know? Perhaps they know someone that happens to be female that influenced Rey’s character (obviously not to the extent that they have superhuman powers, but the more human qualities) or possibly they were influenced by how society is moving closer to sexual equality?