That sounds right to me. Anecdatally I've talked with a lot of latin American girls e.g. Colombians, who are studying engineering, (and busy with exams on maths

That sounds right to me. Anecdatally I've talked with a lot of latin American girls e.g. Colombians, who are studying engineering, (and busy with exams on maths and science subjects) who don't seem at all the type. I think it's an in-demand job with good prospects, where maybe there aren't so many competing career choices. (Interesting psychological study, why you're being downvoted for saying that. Maybe that people are nowadays conditioned to assume any talk of gender differences is sexism, I've noticed.)