Very good article. As a female engineer who left the industry I can add a few more reasons why there are less women. Most leave in their middle management years for various reasons. One is the gender stereotype of taking care of the children. The other is less "pretty."

They get push back, gaslighting, and overall anger towards their successes. What started as support in my early career by both male & female mentors, turned into a ghost town as I progressed. My male mentors disappeared to support other, less deserving men.

I didn't leave to stay home, I left because it was a toxic industry for me to stay in and I could do better elsewhere. I realized over 10+ years that just being respected and treated the same as a man in the industry was asking too much. I could do better.

We, women in STEM, need support from men, and for men to stand up when it's hard. To speak out against other men treating women differently. To suggest women for positions, as opposed to their buddy. We need the "boys club" abolished.