[Killswitch]

Agreed. If woman want to be programmers they will. It's just that men gravitate towards it more... I don't see anybody writing articles titled "Why aren't more men playing with barbies and makeup?"

Edit: not saying men don't. I grew up in a household of girls. I DID play with barbies. Not makeup though.

[greyfade]

But a lot of women (more than you'd think) are actively told from an early age that they are not capable of learning math, and that they can't reasonably have a successful career in science or engineering.

This even despite the fact that there are a lot of other women who weren't taught this nonsense, and have been very successful in scientific and engineering fields.

I don't think it's a matter of women not gravitating toward programming. It's more likely a matter of girls being taught that they're not capable of it and not having successful role models who are in these industries.

[wpietri]

If you think it's a problem that men aren't playing with makeup, write the article. Or heck, just read one of the ones that Google will find you.

Also, note that "it's just that men gravitate towards it more" is not an explanation. It's a way of avoiding actually thinking about the topic. Gravity is about mass, not gender.