@khird I'd imagine even if we didnt have sexism or racism the very fact that STEM is so predominately male that even if we assume that is "natural" (not saying it is) then one would expect women to have an extremely hard time just for being the odd one out. I could only imagine how difficult it must be if you add legit sexism on top of that.
While I dont think STEM professionals are any more racist or sexist than any other group, that prejudice is still there to some degree, so I could just imagine no matter how you slice it it will be a career that will have some very unique challenges for a woman in even the best of climates.