I thought this was a really great article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/why-are-there-still-so-few-women-in-science.html?pagewanted=all

This quote ran very true to me:

<< [Meg Urry, professor of physics and astronomy at Yale] gives many alumni talks, “and there’s always a woman who comes up to me and says the same thing you said, I wanted to become a physicist, but no one encouraged me. If even one person had said, ‘You can do this.’ ” She laughed. “Women need more positive reinforcement, and men need more negative reinforcement. Men wildly overestimate their learning abilities, their earning abilities. Women say, ‘Oh, I’m not good, I won’t earn much, whatever you want to give me is O.K.’ ”

One student told Urry she doubted that she was good enough for grad school, and Urry asked why — the student had earned nearly all A’s at Yale, which has one of the most rigorous physics programs in the country. “A woman like that didn’t think she was qualified, whereas I’ve written lots of letters for men with B averages.” >>

I've noticed in my career that men have often asked for a raise, or drafted their own letters of recommendation and then have asked me to sign it (!!). I don't think I've ever been asked for a raise or a promotion from a woman, and definitely never been given a pre-written letter of recommendation to sign! That said, things have changed over the past decade on that front, which I think is a positive sign.

Did you feel encouraged to pursue your passions/interests growing up?