Working moms, and increasingly working dads, don't want a government handout, but they do need a hand up.

Volunteer activities can foster enormous leadership skills. The nonprofit professional volunteer world is a laboratory for self - realization.

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

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.

Contradictory as it seems, malnutrition is a key contributor to obesity.

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.

Investment in early education is not a Liberal or Conservative idea. Nor should it be decided along party lines.