If being a woman is a factor politically, it's usually not because of a conscious bias, but because women are a novelty.

To be political means to speak out, to risk being called 'catty', or worse. I don't hear men worrying about whether they may be right or not. They enjoy the fight, whether it is with words or fists. Women still tend to shy away from controversy, to be uncomfortable with competition.

If being a woman is a factor politically, it's usually not because of a conscious bias, but because women are a novelty.

There are not many female role models to guide voters, and the tradition that a Southern woman's place is in the home still lingers in some quarters.

If we are to create a new agenda for family/work policies, employers and employees have to take a seat at the same table and recognize their mutual gains.

Fair treatment in the work force is no longer exclusively a labor issue, nor is it a women's issue - it is a fundamental economic issue.

Women need to see ourselves as individuals capable of creating change. That is what political and economic power is all about: having a voice, being able to shape the future. Women's absence from decision-making positions has deprived the country of a necessary perspective.