Always with the off-topic suggestions!

It's an interesting observation about the gender skew, and it parallels my own experiences.

I think it's silly to describe it as "shameful," though. Open source is kind of interesting in that there are theoretically no barriers to entry. If you want to start an OSS project, you just do it. If you want to join in, you just contribute. It's not like there is an entrance exam. So the absence of women means either that women aren't starting projects, or they aren't joining existing projects.

Socially, the scene is a bit LAN-partyish, at least for the projects I've worked on, so I can see how that might not appeal to women. However, things are dictated by the people who show up; if women aren't participating, they don't get to set the tone.

It would be interesting to see what projects started by women look like. I don't know of any, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. If there aren't that many, that should tell you something interesting.