Based on living in the 80s and pop culture at the time, I have a suspicion: "nerds" weren't cool at all. To do anything with a computer or electronics was seen

Based on living in the 80s and pop culture at the time, I have a suspicion: "nerds" weren't cool at all. To do anything with a computer or electronics was seen as the most "non-cool" thing you could do. At the time, women seemed to have all the social control and never did anything (or very rarely, at least) "non-cool." Thus, I suspect any women interested in the field were pushed away from it by their peers, and women's peer pressure is (traditionally) stronger than men's peer pressure (see Mean Girls for reference). Anyway, that's my own two cents colored by a childhood.