When I tried to get one by going to school part time, I was told by the dean of Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute that if I wouldn't give up the job I loved, I obviously wasn't serious about a doctorate. Then I'd get up with the children in the morning and spend the whole day with them. It was hard, but it was harder not doing astronomy.
Nobody becomes a scientist overnight.
Those who work as professional scientists have successfully completed a protracted and arduous training process. If the structural and cultural causes for the leakages are ignored, attempts at increasing the representation of women at the various pipeline segments may fall short. Crucial processes distancing females from science careers start in the family. The Wellesley Pathways Project identified parental encouragement for a science career among the factors that predicted women's persistence in science. Kindergarten through High School.