It tends to come into it earlier, here's a humorous example: http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1883 http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comi

It tends to come into it earlier, here's a humorous example: http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1883 http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1883 It turns out that in even very young children, adults react subconsciously to the problem-solving behaviors of children. In an observational study adults were very quick to swoop in and help girls out when they couldn't perform a task, while boys were allowed to fail until success. Of course, dismissing genetic factors outright is just as problematic as creating just-so stories and fitting evidence on them. Alas, the answer is usually more complex. My point is that there are a lot of subtle cues that pervade our society. Girls know to like pink at ages younger than 3, and yet just over a century ago pink was mostly associated with boys (pink is based on red, a proper manly color). And even well-meaning comp sci folks often subtly make women uncomfortable (feminist theory calls this "othering"). Edit: removed useless line.