In school classrooms, girls often do well in science-sometimes exceptionally well. They score high, answer confidently, and speak about careers in medicine, research, or environmental science with genuine enthusiasm. Yet as the academic funnel narrows, something shifts. By the time science reaches its more demanding spaces-research laboratories, doctoral programmes, institutional leadership-many of these young women are no longer there.Women are often excluded from high-visibility assignments or leadership roles on the assumption that they may not be “available.”