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[quote=Anonymous]Hi wise DCUMers,

I've slowed my career down a lot over the last 10 years to date and finally start a family.  It took a long time.  My young child is finally demanding less of my attention, and I find myself looking for a greater challenge than my current role (mid-senior professional, non-managerial) at my federal agency.  I need to keep this job, as it is stable and my family depends on the income.  My field is male dominated, and the gender gap hasn't improved in about 2 decades.  Today I visited the website of the prestigious professional society in my field and saw that a former classmate (who is male) is in a leadership position there.   There was only one woman listed among the dozen or so leaders.  Should I invest my energy in writing a paper to present there next year?  (I haven't written a paper in over 10 years, and this will likely require putting in night and weekend hours.)  Or, should I do independent consulting on the side?  This would be a new challenge, and somewhat scary, but it seems like a realistic goal.  I'd have to generate clients and find chunks of time to do the work, in addition to keeping up my day job.  But maybe gender will be less of a barrier if I follow this path.  I cherish my time with my child and don't want to destroy the balance I currently enjoy. But if there is a way to find challenges while keeping this balance, I want to give it a try.  Many thanks for any thoughts/advice.

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