I would agree with chay - STEM careers does not automatically translate to workaholic lifestyle. The two companies I worked for, have been usually pretty flexible with schedules... it did not matter if I went to work at 6AM and leave earlier for training, or come in later and work later - and I had a co-worker who came in every morning at 6AM in her time zone and left by 3PM to be home in the PM with her child. And with my whole group having kids, where I see both moms and dad split the duties, I do feel I am starting to see a change in attitude where it is no longer unusual if it is the dad running out the door to pick up the sick child or having to do pickups for their children. I had a manager who always blocked out the afternoons his son was pitching in his baseball games because he said work would still be there after the games, but his son would not be in high school forever.
But... it is hard to shake those stereotypes of STEM fields, and change seems so slow. Then I think about how long it took for girls to embrace sports (I met women from the days before Title IX who finally started up sports in their 50s and 60s, and telling me how girls were told not to do sports for so many reasons) and yet I could not imagine not having played sports in high school. And yet - when I look at all the different sports available, it is even more normal today for girls to be in soccer, rowing, running and not limited to sports that were considered to be feminine (cheerleadering, ballet/dance, figure skating etc).
And I am hoping that the changes I have seen regarding attitudes towards men and women in high tech, and their family lives, persist and continue where it is no longer odd if dads take paternity leaves or spend time with their kids and women are not seen as inferior to their male counterparts - and maybe that will translate to the children not seeing STEM as a boy/girl thing but rather, just as an option that anyone can pursue if interested.
