Policies that allow women to stay in

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy had been working at Google for about a year and was newly married when she got an opportunity for a new role that would be a big promotion — but it would also require significant travel around the world.

Her husband was not happy about it, she said.

Before accepting the job, she asked if her husband could take a few trips with her each year. Google agreed, and she took the job. But then she became pregnant. She wanted to stay in the role and continue advancing her career, so this time she asked if she could take her baby and nanny with her — on every trip. Again, Google said yes.

“For the next two and a half years, everywhere I went, they went,” she said. “And I mean everywhere.” They went with her to China, India and Korea.

Ms. Singh Cassidy, who is now the president of StubHub, said on a panel that it was crucial that companies pay attention to the careers of those in the middle of the corporate ladder who may be starting families or have other responsibilities.

“We want companies to think about policies that allow women to stay in,” she said. But in addition to expecting companies to make this effort, women who want to keep up their career trajectory during these years need to ask themselves what would it make it possible to stay in their jobs, she said.

“It requires more of us to say, ‘This is what I need.’” — Hanna Ingber

“Bravery as a muscle we build”

Why do so many women doubt themselves in their professional and personal lives? Reshma Saujani, founder and chief executive of Girls Who Code, said it started with early conditioning. Even on the playground, she said, boys are told to climb to the top of the monkey bars and jump off, while girls are told to be careful. “We definitely socialize our girls to be perfect and socialize our boys to be brave,” she said.

Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School and a best-selling author, said this idea was evident in the classroom. When female students get a B, they think they should choose another path. When male students get a B, they come to him and argue that they should have received an A.