If you were to log in, you'd be able to get more information on your fellow community member.
Programming? Hard? Come on! Maybe it is if you're writing an RDBMS from scratch, but the popularity of the web has produced thousands of high-paying jobs that are open to any reasonably intelligent person with a B.A. It ain't rocket science.If the issue is "Why don't people want to pursure PhDs?", I think the article above covers it pretty well, but there are many reasons why most women are not interested in programming. It's often an abstract, escapist world of puzzles that seem to have little relevance to reality. Factor in the fashion sense and social skills of the average male co-worker in a programming career and you can see why it isn't too appealing to women who don't really have it in their blood.
(NOTE: I have worked with some very talented female programmers. The key personality trait I noticed that they had in common was a fondness for hanging out with geeks.)