Larry Summers, the president of Harvard, made a big boo-boo a few weeks back by suggesting that there migth be innate differences between men and women that explain the bias toward men in math and sciences. He unleashed a firestorm of angry response. He backpedalled like crazy, and even claimed in a statement that he was mis-interpreted. But I've spoken to several people who were there, and while he might have mis-spoken, the meaning of what he said, and how he said, it, was quite clear.
Here's a fantastic article talking about perceived differences between men and women. Well worth reading, for some historical perspective. I agree with the author's point that today, with the state of knowledge in life sciences, if someone wants to make a claim for innate differences between the sexes, then the burden of proof is upon them to name the biological (genetic or chemical) basis for the difference.
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