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.

Babies are smart. They can tell the difference between a responsive face and a blank face, wiped clean of emotion.

I confess to feeling continued ambivalence about political life, aware of its shortcomings and disappointments, but drawn back to it again and again because of its infinite promise. Justice can triumph, wrongs can be righted, and pain can be alleviated, if the right fix is found. The optimistic illusion that one can change the world is difficult to resist, especially when from time to time that illusion is sustained by even a hint of reality. Change does happen in the political process.

Statistics do not convey emotion. They shock us for a minute or two, and then we click again.

Why is computer science a good field for women? For one thing, thats where the jobs are, and for another, the pay is better than for many jobs, and finally, its easier to combine career and family.

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.

It's time to recognize what compromise means: no side wins or loses all.