I definitely think the Ramayana primarily benefits men, because the narrative gives them much more agency (not to mention dialogue and character development). When Rama and Sita are separated, Rama has his moments of lament over Sita, but he is also going around and having adventures; he even puts off his pursuit of Sita so that Sugriva can settle into his new kingdom before helping him save her (283). And then eventually, he and all his men get to swoop in and save the day. But all we hear from Sita this whole time is her concern over Rama (351). And then when the battle begins and Rama comes to save her, we still just hear of her lamenting over Rama’s death (433). She is simply the damsel in distress for a good portion of the narrative. And given that she is supposed to portray the ideal wife, that is making a commentary that the ideal wife should simply wait for her prince charming to come and save her, and then in the aftermath be subservient to him and sacrifice literally everything to prove herself (491). This story definitely benefits the male position by showing it as one of dominance and favor, but also that even has limits; it more specifically benefits the men who are in the higher levels of the caste system who uphold dharma (such as Rama himself).
Also, I think any major message from this story is that dharma is not easy to uphold, nor is it always clear what exactly follows dharma and what does not. Like in the death of Vali, I thought he made a good argument against Rama explaining why he had broken the rules of dharma: it was not his fight to win, Rama shot him with his back turned and while he wasn’t expecting it (273). But then Rama immediately points out how he was acting on the basis of dharma while Vali was not, and then says “you were killed because dharma demanded it” and “we cannot act as we please” (276). Like many discussions of morals or ethics, it is clear that doing what is right by the standards of dharma is not always an easy task, but can offer great rewards if you adhere to it faithfully.