> In my long career, I had never before been in a room like that, and the difference in tone, conversation, respect, and professionalism was unlike any I have experienced. I can't prove it was the presence of women that made the difference - it could just be that astronomers are better people all around, a possibility I cannot really refute - but it seemed to me that the difference stemmed from the demographics.

I feel exactly the same way. After undergrad, I assembled a board game group with my male friends. Some girls (girlfriends, invited drop-ins) became regulars, and for a long while, the group was pretty much 50/50. It had never been so good.

Eventually some things happened, people moved away, and eventually the group became 100% male, nerdy guys. It was a pale shadow of its own self. I eventually lost interest in it altogether, and we get together very infrequently now.

It had nothing to do with dating or romance. I never bothered figuring exactly what it was that made the group better. As far as I'm concerned, diversity for the sake of diversity is a noble goal.

Many other professional and educational anecdotes contribute to this last belief, not just this board game example, but it is representative.