Fortunately, I've been able to escape the latter in working for the state. Change is needed not only in creating awareness in girls, but also in boys.
Candidates are frequently young fathers and mothers, and spend hundreds of hours studying.
We've got a ways to go. Five years ago, my Ivy League school gave the Ph.D. general exam to nine candidates in one particular School of Engineering. They failed the four females and passed the five males. The best decision I probably ever made was to punch out before the exam and take my present job in California. To me, it's no wonder there is a shortage of female job applicants for engineering professor positions, the most important role model which I never had.