[yason]

Or maybe money and recognition aren't that valuable intrinsically and the industry is basically (ab)using men craving for those both. Maybe women are simply much smarter to not choose that line of job in the first place, or it would take a lot more of something else than money and recognition to convince them to take those risks.

[Xylakant]

That might be true but brings you back to the question why this is so. Are women intrinsically more intelligent due to their gender or does society place different expectations on the upbringing of boys, leading to a different selection of skills that develop. Or is it a mixture of both?

[wafflebear]

It is because the sex ratio is close to 1:1 at birth yet there need not be 1:1 men:women in adulthood. If men get themselves killed, it doesn't really matter.

[posterboy]

It's a physical job. Men are on average stronger. Even though the distribution of strength might not be proportional, the general perception should lead to a manifest self-image simply by association. And it helps that people like me corroborate this, frequently.

[Xylakant]

Pure strength is not the only metric that is important on most physical jobs. Endurance is another metric and afaik women tend to rate fairly well on that. This is also a mentally tough job, working in confined spaces in the dark with low visibility requires a whole range of attributes other than mere physical strength.

[posterboy]

Yes, and I was alluding to mentally specifically, wasn't I?