If it is any relief, it did work for me.

Once we became friends first. The other it was in an app. We started talking and since we were comfortable with each other, keep seeing each other.

The way I see it, approaching people let me choose (I only approached people I liked) and saves me time. If they don't like women taking initiative, they were not going to like me even if I went through all the effort to make them feel confident to approach themselves because it was a matter of time that I decided to act on something. If they consider me "easy" and "less than human" I won't like them because no one who decides that other person is not human or less is OK in my book.

And I added a couple of little "test" to identify differences in values early. For example, when setting the time and date for the date, say that you can't and suggest other day. I did this once naturally and the guy "exploded", apparently, if things didn't went exactly as he planned them, he couldn't handle it. But life is full of that and I wasn't planning on having my life on hold for anyone. Or have to reschedule other things for anyone. The reschedule also helps to identify people who already have a partner, since they need to "sneak" and reschedule is more difficult for them.

Other "innocent" test is to offer to pay. Depending how they react, it would tell you things about how they see you. It is not so much about them paying or not, but about weird reactions like being indignant (bad sing) or lecturing you about gender roles (absurd). Being comfortable spliting the bill or being invited or even paying but saying that the next is on you are ok. Even saying "I choose the place I pay" is valid. But surprisingly, there are about 50% of men who complain loudly if you want to split the bill or pay.

At the end of the day, actions tell you a lot about people and if they are compatible with you. I'm sure you'll find someone right for you.