Yes, for a few reasons.
1) I need to make sure that you are a gentleman. I am a lady, and my safety is very important. I would hate to expose myself to dangerous company for lack of screening.
2) My time is very valuable, I am constantly bombarded with emails and calls. I need to know that you are serious about meeting, my screening helps to "weed out" the people that only want to talk and email from those that are genuinely interested in meeting. This allows me to focus more time on you instead of wasting time with other people that have no intention of meeting.
3) I've introduced myself to you, so now I would now like to know about YOU before we meet.