Women who have had more opportunity to develop their own strengths and talents, or who are quite satisfied and content in a traditional role, unfortunately don't always understand that many women aren't satisfied or content.

Wisdom is partly innate and partly developed and practised. It's about a lot more than just knowledge: experience, involvement, communication, interaction with people. Wisdom is a way of being.

I think that women of my generation have had a real need to form networks and friendships because it's been, as they say, a man's world, and women have felt excluded and isolated to a large degree. When women get together in numbers their strength compounds and is seen and felt by themselves and others.

Most of all, I like the quiet, rounded tugs. They remind me of women. As I watch them work I see them as kindly, no-fuss boats which patiently tend much larger, grander and more important-looking ships. They make sure these ships get to the right place as the right time, shepherding them with a pull or a push as needed. Their power is not immediately obvious but it is there - inside. I watch them a lot and never tire of seeing their unsung but absolutely essential work. The silent strong women of the sea.

The dialogue between women is a rich field, but change does not come without a lot of reading, asking, listening, risk-taking and hard work.

Women who have had more opportunity to develop their own strengths and talents, or who are quite satisfied and content in a traditional role, unfortunately don't always understand that many women aren't satisfied or content.

I don't think of compassion as sympathy but rather as empathy. An understanding of how people are feeling, which often translates into action.