A change in numbers

A number of years ago (at least 20), I was involved in running a high school competition in Canberra, at the Australian National University. The event was well attended, with over 120 players (IIRC). Of those 120 players, there were only 2 female players. At the time this wasn't that unusual, as there was a significant drop in the number of female players once they reached High School.
Move forward 20 years and the 3% participation level has jumped to over 40%. At this years North Canberra Secondary event, almost half the field were female players, as were the top 2 seeds. This was helped by Merici College taking part for the first time, a welcome addition to the ACT Schools chess scene.
As for the tournament itself, Lyneham High School dominated once again, They picked up all the major prizes, and despite the valiant efforts from the top players from other schools, 4 of their players finished with perfect scores (7/7)!