Several of those jobs depend on physical strength, an area in which there are significant physiological differences between men and women. Men have more muscle mass on average both in absolute amount and as a percentage of body mass. Men have a greater capacity for muscular hypertrophy due to higher testosterone levels. There are also differences in food processing that tend to give men more muscle and more energy. See [1] for more.
Typically, there is a 40-50% difference in upper body strength, and a 20-30% difference in lower body strength. Men also have significantly higher grip strength.
Those are averages, and there is overlap, but generally the pool of people qualified for jobs that depend a lot on physical strength is simply going to have a lot more men then women.
Programming is not such a job, so you can't really look to coal miners or oil riggers to explain why there aren't more women programmers.
Historical restrictions that have been legally stripped away, but left behind a strong layer of discrimination and occasionally even hostility, creating an extra layer of difficulty for young women attempting to enter the trades, and a social sense that 'women don't do that' which works to discourage them from having the idea in the first place. Gosh, you might be on to something.
I was just thinking along the same lines, but with pilots.
To flip the question somewhat, what is an industry which managed to successfully turn around its gender balance? From mostly men to a somewhat more natural ratio. What can we learn from that industry?
Typically, there is a 40-50% difference in upper body strength, and a 20-30% difference in lower body strength. Men also have significantly higher grip strength.
Those are averages, and there is overlap, but generally the pool of people qualified for jobs that depend a lot on physical strength is simply going to have a lot more men then women.
Programming is not such a job, so you can't really look to coal miners or oil riggers to explain why there aren't more women programmers.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_differences_in_human_physio...