> My wife, who has a solid head for mathematics but majored in German once explained to me why she didn't go into engineering: 1) because she didn't want to be

> My wife, who has a solid head for mathematics but majored in German once explained to me why she didn't go into engineering: 1) because she didn't want to be surrounded by dudes all day; 2) because she didn't want to enter a field where she wouldn't have women bosses and mentors. Then her own prejudice is keeping her out of engineering. That’s not the fault of the men in that field, that's all on her. Also, you say she has a "solid head for mathematics" but instead majored in German. Again, that was her choice and this may be why many women don't go into technical fields: they simply choose not to (regardless of their abilities).