No, I agree, I find it highly unlikely the NPR editors did it on purpose. But I do have to wonder what caused them to change their minds between the two polls, and why they didn't think about the implications.

It's interesting that you bring up Harry Potter -- J.K. Rowling was initially required by her publisher to use her initials rather than her first name because they were afraid that boys wouldn't pick up the book if they knew it was by a woman. So whether or not it's actually true that boys are less likely to read books by women, it's certainly the case that publishers *believe* it to be true. I agree that all this is a symptom of much deeper socialization and education issues, not the cause. But change has to start somewhere.