The No. 1 impediment to women succeeding in the workforce is now in the home.

People assume Wall Street is a certain culture and tech is a certain culture. But if you look at the (gender) numbers at the top of (those) industries, they don't vary very much. I think in finance, women hold 19 percent of the top jobs, and women are 21 percent of the leaders in nonprofits.

Everyone needs to get more comfortable with female leaders-including female leaders themselves.

We need to talk more openly about mentorships and sponsorships. Women don't get the mentoring, and particularly the sponsors, they need to succeed as much as men.

Don't make decisions too far in advance, particularly ones you're not even conscious you're making.

Someone who values fairness and expects or, even better, wants to do his share in the home. These men exist and, trust me, over time, nothing is sexier.

It's hard to visualize someone as a leader, if she is always waiting to be told what to do.