It is good to hear most of the finalist were from public school.
But this topic reminds me of a question I always wondered about. Why are so few people really interested enough in science and math to learn some it?
The other part to the question, is, why are even fewer women interested in either topic. It really won't do to just say they were discouraged as children, since that sort of pyschological steering stops being effective at some point and personal interests can take it from there.
For example I never had much beyond a high school level introduction to science and math, but was interested in both enough to simply read my way into more advanced topics in both.
Again, I know this is uncommon, but it is an even greater rarity among the women, I've known or talked to on various occasions...
CG