@maxdancona,
Quote:The current ideology is that all things being equal, there will be equal numbers of men and women who excel in advanced math and hard science
No the current ideology is that women have the same opportunity to study and excel in advanced math and hard science.
which I think for the most part they do -in the past, it was discouraged for women to study these subjects and encouraged for them to study the softer subjects - the reverse for men.
Now I see much more encouragement for women to study the sciences. They have special programs where young girls can explore science to encourage more females in this field.
I see more teachers encouraging both boys and girls to pursue studies in college and other means in subjects in which they excel rather than because of their gender. My daughter has advanced placement calculus right now and her math teacher did tell her she should consider studying math in college. So I do see this much more now.