[onion2k]

There are many examples of girls being actively refused entry in to technology classes[1] based on their gender. When the education system itself is prejudiced against women it's unreasonable to suggest women aren't getting tech jobs because they're unwilling to put in the effort - they can't because they're blocked from doing so.

[1] A recent example http://jezebel.com/girl-fights-library-s-boys-only-robotics-...

[jazzyk]

I would say this a sample of 1 - and from a biased source, too.

My daughter graduated form high-school last year. Not only had I not heard a single case of girls being refused entry to anything - most of the times it seemed like my daughter and her female friends (most of them straight "A" students in a very competitive high-school in the Boston, MA area) were almost harassed to join the math club, the robotics club, etc.

None of them had any interest - they all found it "boring". The reasons are complex and a another topic, but in short, part of it is biology, part of it pop-culture where "nerd"/"geek" is not something you want to be.

[jazzyk]

Please do not downvote just because you disagree - it is against the rules.

I was questioning the statement "many examples of girls being actively refused...", because the poster provided an example of ONE incident. I provided valid observations from my own experience, providing contrary evidence, just to make a point that we cannot form an opinion based on one event.

[justuk]

Your comments are fine in my book. They reflect an uncomfortable reality that many don't want to accept. And yes, the link isn't the best of sources, their owner courts controversy and has made some terrible mistakes recently.

[nzp]

> Please do not downvote just because you disagree - it is against the rules.

It's not. I can see how this myth took root on HN, but it's funny how persistent it is given that it was clarified quite a few times even by PG.

[juliangregorian]

The justification given is extremely interesting as well (if misguided?). We generally wouldn't have a problem with a girls-only tech program because girls are disadvantaged in tech. But boys in school are lagging behind in lots of school subjects. Still, one wonders why robotics is supposed to improve literacy.

[tzs]

It's probably not robotics per se that are supposed to improve the boys so they won't fall behind over the summer. It's probably anything that gets them thinking systematically.

They probably went with robotics over something like French history because the program can only work if it is interesting enough to get kids to sign up.

[killface]

Yeah, and my college had (back in 2000) a womens-only robotics group. Where's your outrage over the men?

This is a dumb example.