Geraldine Rodgers: I know there are these great superwomen who hold down fantastic jobs and have five children, but I haven't got a clue how they do it, I couldn't do it (laughs). You know I've had one child and I've worked full time pretty well all the way through his growing up, but it was damned hard

Suzy Lynch: I think going on maternity leave definitely gave me the breathing space to work out what I wanted to do. I think when you're in employment,

you don't have a lot of headspace to step back and say hang on, where am I going?

Jeannette Milbourn: With all the help in the world, unless your husband is prepared to put his career in equal balance with you then, then it's not going to happen.

Kate Mingay: You have to be focused in what's important to you.

f it means you have to sit up until 11 o'clock at night sending your emails and finishing your work so that at three o'clock that afternoon you could be at your kid's sports day then that's what you do.