I actually find skirts and dresses much more comfortable. I *never* wore pants except for jeans on the weekends until maybe 10-15 years ago. It was either shorts or sundresses, if it wasn't jeans. Some of it was the advent of petite sizes, but, when living in a hot climate, having a sweaty, rubbing waistband and pants is not good.
The only reason I wear pants to work now, is if I'm working with a little kid and I have to get down on the floor. When I see clients at school, I always wear skirts. I notice that most of the younger people I work with never wear skirts or dresses. One of my DILs is like this, but for her, I think it's body image. The other one (who is actually even younger) wears dresses all of the time.