Some observers are losing patience with this decades-old argument, however. Women don't feel welcome in the tech industry. Some experts contend that women steer clear of tech careers in part because engineering schools are paternalistic institutions. For example, a boss might pass over a mother because he assumes she would reject a promotion that requires traveling extensively or living overseas. Until those skills are appreciated more, women will drop out because they feel like second-class workers.
Women have a harder time balancing work and family.
Many women shoulder the majority of responsibility for caring for kids and elderly parents. Many interrupt their careers to bear and raise children, others pare back their work to carve out time for their family. And it hurts when bosses dole out promotions and raises. That's why Wellesley College's Hertz doesn't believe the issue is the number of women in the pipeline with technical degrees. The real issue, she says, is how many women have the time and partners to stand up to the demands of jobs that cut no slack for family responsibilities.