I think you make a good point about the data. I had read another article on a longitudinal study of mathematically gifted youth that suggested that boys tend to be more focused in their pursuits, working intensely on a specific area or two and really excelling, while girls tend to be more global, making connections between multiple (often apparently unrelated) fields. Basically, boys went for more depth where girls went for more breadth. This may explain some of the discrepancies you point out.
Here is a brief quotation from the article:
although more mathematically precocious
males than females entered math-science careers,
this does not necessarily imply a loss of talent because the
women secured similar proportions of advanced degrees
and high-level careers in areas more correspondent with
the multidimensionality of their ability-preference pattern
(e.g., administration, law, medicine, and the social sciences).
By their mid-30s, the men and women appeared to
be happy with their life choices and viewed themselves as
equally successful (and objective measures support these
subjective impressions).
The full article can be found here
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Peabody/SMPY/DoingPsychScience2006.pdf
