When leaders don’t talk about their mistakes, they indirectly reinforce the perception that women who make it to top ranks have perfect judgment, had “golden paths” to leadership, or were never rejected or told “No”. A young woman, who is already skeptical that a leadership role is a plausible career goal, now sees a Grand Canyon between herself and a woman leader. She might think, “She can do it – but I’m not like her.”

Start off by investigating your policies. Do they treat men and women, officially, as equal caregivers? One thing to check, for example, is whether leave specifically for caregiving is the same for men and women.