Replying to self to add: A real live woman did some real, hard research about the same topic, inspired by the same Summers quote, and backed by actual studies

Replying to self to add: A real live woman did some real, hard research about the same topic, inspired by the same Summers quote, and backed by actual studies (although wrapped in a boatload of anecdote - which even on its own would be more convincing than the OP's unsupported speculation): http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/why-are-there-still-so-few-women-in-science.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/why-are-there-... And a quote that sums it up: > As so many studies have demonstrated, success in math and the hard sciences, far from being a matter of gender, is almost entirely dependent on culture — a culture that teaches girls math isn’t cool and no one will date them if they excel in physics; a culture in which professors rarely encourage their female students to continue on for advanced degrees; a culture in which success in graduate school is a matter of isolation, competition and ridiculously long hours in the lab; a culture in which female scientists are hired less frequently than men, earn less money and are allotted fewer resources.