[andrewcooke]

not sure if this is related, but something my (female, astronomer) partner has commented on in the past is that the more traditionally "macho" societies (s. europe and latam) have (proportionally) more female astronomers (and perhaps other scientists) than the "more equal" western countries. she doesn't know why, but i think may have suggested once that it could be because they traditionally give more "space" to women, while in the usa / uk, women have to compete more directly with men (and since men are in the majority, the game is framed in male terms, and men therefore tend to win).

so a rephrasing of the last point is that it is in fact something similar to the "women-only" segregation, in a sense, but more deeply ingrained in the culture...

of course, the interpretation is pure speculation, but i am pretty sure she's right on the numbers.