My experience is that people (teachers, administrators, HR departments, politicians, etc) are so excited to bring females into STEM that they will overlook a more talented male in order to provide praise and opportunities to a female. There's a red carpet waiting for anyone with two X chromosomes who can do math, and a journactivist with a camera dying to tell the story. I think a lot of females who are inclined to do engineering don't want the attention. I also think it sends the wrong message to anyone more talented who isn't getting the same attention. A male talented in STEM just isn't interesting to anyone these days.
In general it's awkward that someone's career choice is politicized, and done so mostly by people who can't STEM.