I think a rough TLDR is: Stereotypes. > Still, even with the introduction of men, programming was often conflated with low-level clerical work commonly perform

I think a rough TLDR is: Stereotypes. > Still, even with the introduction of men, programming was often conflated with low-level clerical work commonly performed by women like typing or filing, writes Nathan Ensmenger, a professor of informatics and computing at Indiana University. [...] > Jane Margolis, a senior researcher at the University of California-Los Angeles and author of Unlocking the Clubhouse, cites the introduction of the home computer as a “boys toy” in the 1980s as a factor that pushed more men than women into computer science. Radio Shack ran ads showing that personal computers were great for nerdy (white) boys and sporty boys because they could use it to do homework and play video games. Another 1985 Apple ad showed how much a computer could help a boy named Brian Scott, while also demonstrating what fun he could have teasing a girl who was trying to use a computer. I do think that we under-appreciate the effect that stereotypes have on forming peoples' career choices. Teens are particularly susceptible to these things, and that's unfortunate because that's the age where they are expected to start choosing their career path.