>Right then and there, I said loud, confidently, and clearly so everyone in the room could hear me, “I DON’T UNDERSTAND.” The room became instantly quite and t

>Right then and there, I said loud, confidently, and clearly so everyone in the room could hear me, “I DON’T UNDERSTAND.” The room became instantly quite and the T.A. had a look on his face as if a spell that had been cast over him was broken. After that his whole demeanor changed. He became eager to help us. Not only that, but other people in the room jumped in to help explain and even the girl grew visibly more comfortable and started asking questions. Everyone became so eager to help – it was rowdy, exciting – people left and right were neglecting their own work to try to help us, it became a major group effort and everyone was so passionate to jump in and help. The field may be "male-dominated". That does not mean it is unfriendly to women, generally speaking.