If I recall correctly (I may very well be mistaken), men's performance is more variable than women's. Which would lead to the following: * Men would hold the majority of top and bottom spots in a field.

That said, I don't think that's fully responsible for this, but it's interesting to think about.

Additionally, I do think people in Silicon Valley seem to give off the vibe of sacrifice life to be good at your job; something I think women tend to do less often. I don't think that everyone does do that, but there's a stereotype about it for a reason.

Part of fixing the 'gender problem' is not only fixing the selection bias but making sure that there's an environment that does discriminate against one sex or the other. If you're looking to do that.

Are these blanket statements? Yes. Please take them with a huge grain of salt. We are talking about trends and stereotypes after all.