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There had never been a ruling queen in Gondor anyway so why would she expect to take the throne?
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Lalaith - in the words of Arwen (film Arwen, at least), 'there is always hope'.
Eowyn had been brought up surrounded by strong men, male warriors, and when she was younger, she would have seen no reason why she could not be equal to them. This mindset would probably have been rather deep set by the time she was a young woman and realised that the thinking of the rest of Middle Earth at the time was not the same, but, being so determined, she would probably not have changed her thinking anyway.
Also, she had proved herself a warrior - the witch king said no man could kill him, and no one did: it was one of the most unlikely of characters, a woman. She was a fine warrior, and this feat would prove her worth - people find it easier to follow a hero, and that was what Eowyn had proved herself to be by killing the Witch King.
Besides, at some time, the Numenoreans believed that a female ruler could be as strong as a male, and the Queens, even when they weren't ruling, were strong in themselves: Tar-Miriel, for example, refusing to give in and follow the ways of her wicked husband, worshipping Melkor and driving the true Numenoreans underground, when she knew it were wrong. Eowyn was of the same strong spirit, and she probably knew it, through practically rather than vanity: if this was the case, there would be no reason why she would not have made as fine a ruler as any man.