there are also a lot of intelligent men who may enjoy and be well suited for science, but were discouraged from pursuing it at young age. Up until a few decade

there are also a lot of intelligent men who may enjoy and be well suited for science, but were discouraged from pursuing it at young age. Up until a few decades ago being a scientist was not imaginable for more than a few thousand people in all the West. Up until 80 years ago, the west wasn't even a thing. My dad was a huge fan of science, unfortunately his small town in Italy was invaded by Nazis when he was a kid and he had to survive and then take care of a widowed mother. In Spain they had a fascist dictatorship till 1975. The fact that in such a short timespan the presence of women in science is at the level it is today is frankly something that should be considered a huge success, not a failure.