What you also have to consider, that it is mostly very detrimental for a woman's career for her to be away from her chosen profession for years at a time. I see it all the time in recruitment, who are you going to want to hire, someone who has consistently worked and kept up to date or someone who, although might possess some experience (years back) and the right qualifications but has been out of the job market for a long time and therefore not kept up to date with their chosen profession?