There are a number of groups in the Bay Area that are really trying to get women back into coding. I say back into because my first programming class back in college wasn't exactly 50/50 between the sexes but it was WAY better than 2% you describe.
Historically it's been quite a pendulum shift, because in the 1960s, programming was considered women's work. Hardware was where all the manly-men worked. Men are hard, and women are soft, right? Also, programming meant typing.
See: Apollo Guidance Computer.
