I think it boils down to a couple of factors: (1) women, understandably, loathe asking men for permission to do things, and (2) if they want to have children, t

I think it boils down to a couple of factors: (1) women, understandably, loathe asking men for permission to do things, and (2) if they want to have children, they can't take nearly as many risks in their early years. Item 1 essentially rules out mainstream corporate environments, which are still the nasty, vulgar, dumb white boy's world they've been for centuries. It also makes VC-backed startups uncompelling, because although startup engineers and VCs are more refined than mainstream corporates, VCs are still mostly men. Moreover, most people want to have children, and while men who want to have kids can wait until their 50s, women can't. This means that men can take more risks when they're young, and it's why, for example, academia is unappealing: it's a career where you need someone's permission (tenure) to start your adult life, and usually don't get it until your late 30s. A lot of the very-smart women who would be entering computer science choose, instead, to become doctors, because medicine's a much better career from this perspective. 1. The risk is low. 2. If you're good, you don't have to ask anyone for permission. (This isn't true in tech; you still need VC.) 3. You have pretty much free rein over whether or not you want to be rich and work long hours, or moderately wealthy with a relaxed work schedule.