(I was a Muslim for a number of years (I've been around a while) and during that time I was torn on this question- not from a religious perspective, but from a 'human' perspective. I will respond to this from my point of view 'back in the day'.)
On the one hand, I can see the desire to separate men and women as a good thing. People are people, and I know the last thing I needed during prayers was a shapely female derriere in my face providing a huge distraction from God. When prostrating, it's just an awfully strong temptation to 'take a look'. Human nature? Sure. Wrong place, wrong time? Definitely. Khadijah's badonkadonk- however sexy it may be- is not there for you to ogle while your thoughts should be 100% on God. (Besides, what if Khadijah is Omar's wife? Your eyes may be writing checks your body can't cash when Omar finds you in the parking lot later.)
On the other hand, we should be able to control our desire (and our wandering eyes) and mixing men and women together should not be a problem. That's the bottom line right there.
As a compromise, my solution would be to still place a divider down the center of the mosque floor between men and women and bring the women beside- and not behind- the men. This way, women assume their rightful place as the equals of men in worship and it allows them to see and hear the Imam. With the divider in place, it also allows both men and women a mechanism to deter distraction.