Parents face many decisions in balancing career and family. Is it better to have children early in your career, when fertility is higher or to delay until you are better established? Once you have a child, do you work full time, part-time, or stay home? Who stays home with a sick child? What is best for your child? How will your child feel about it? Life is about choices and trade-offs.

If you slow down your career when your children are young, what are the barriers to getting your career moving again? Mentors can provide both advice and sponsorship whether you are planning to increase or decrease the intensity of your career effort. While advisors are important, sponsors are essential.

Another issue is being bold and confident enough to negotiate for what you want. Just because you feel limited by family issues, doesn’t mean that you must sell yourself short.

Don’t assume that management knows what you want or what you are or aren’t willing to sacrifice to get it. You may inadvertently be sending mixed messages. Politely asking for what you want, improves your odds of getting it.

Work-life balance is a career-long issue. If you have a good understanding of your personal priorities, it is easier to make the decisions. In addition to last minute illness-related crises, we face many other choices. Do you take time off during the week for children’s sports events? What do you do if an important meeting pops up in the middle of a long planned vacation? There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. There are always trade-offs. Know your priorities and actively manage the messages you send with your behavior.

In this informal discussion, Eve will describe her personal choices and her reasons for making those choices. Her daughter, Elsa, will answer questions on how her mother’s choices impacted her.