As a former member of the math team (among many other nerdy pursuits), I have to ask the question that nobody ever wants to answer: is an academically prepared girl with the ability to compete at the highest levels on math team better served by competing on the math team (or the debate team, or the scholastic bowl team)?

I mean, one could plausibly look at the statistics and say "Hmm, it seems like the girls who are getting high scores on our math SATs are not bothering to go for the geek cred and are, instead, merely maximizing their credentials via easier routes such as making sure they get the A in English. This gets them into marginally better colleges. There, they avoid geek cred paths like going for a PhD in math and instead choose easier majors like business, where they work less, earn more, and have more work/life balance. Confound all this sexism! All genders should share equally in the underpaid, overworked, unsung triumph that is being a graduate student in a field not one person in ten thousand can even understand!"