A woman has to work twice as hard as a man to prove that she is half as good as him. Fortunately for us women, that is not so tough...

The latest book I am reading is the autobiography of Madeline Albright - "Madam Secretary". Having (hitherto) no interest in American politics, I am approaching the book totally objectively. So far, she comes across as an extremely intelligent woman who is also an excellent mother. She built her career before the times of political correctness, when men did not even pay lip service to gender equality.
Another aspect I looooooved about the book and identified with was that Madeline finished her PhD and did volunteer work, building contacts during the 10 years that her girls were growing up and started her career at the age of 39. Even I am hoping to study / do part time work till my kids are growing up. I can pick up many examples of extremely sucessful, formidable women from the Indian corporate scenario who also either started their career late or took a few years off to take care of their kids. Some examples are Anu Aga, ex-chairperson of Thermax, Hema Ravichandar who wasSenior VP HR at Infy and now has her own consultancy, Sudha Murty, who heads Infosys foundation. QED - you dont need an early start in the "race". It is possible to start late and still realize your potential.