This is not a morality tale, but a reality tale for our time. It's tough-love pragmatism. Most women really don't have to prove that they can be as good as men in certain leadership positions. They're climbing through the glass ceiling, slowly but surely. They don't have to prove that they can juggle children and career.
Women can do most any job and do it well.
But they can't do two super demanding jobs at the same time. It's a hard truth for many women, but true nonetheless, that no matter how conscientious the father, children blame their mothers more for what they don't get. It's a truism of Army life that ambivalent leadership cannot be absolved. Men and women seeking professional careers today are more likely to be working on a level playing field if they are between the ages of 27 and 33 and have never had a child. In 1997 the wage gap had shrunk to 2 percent among American workers in similar careers and with similar experience.