DAME GAIL REBUCK

The whole 'superwoman' thing is a misnomer. All working mothers struggle and you get through it however you can. I mentor young women and it's still one of the biggest questions I hear… "Am I being a bad mother?" "Can I cope with juggling the two?" We beat ourselves up. Home based mothers face their own challenges, too.  

My mother was a strong woman through necessity. She had to go out and find work at thirteen because money was tight and she was the eldest daughter. As a result, a deep work ethic permeated our family and was passed down to me.

I remember my first Saturday job. I was fifteen; I think I must have lied about my age to get it. It was very exciting. This was different to pocket money. There was a tremendous sense of freedom that I could spend the money on whatever I wanted.

There's no perfect formula. I know it can be difficult for children to compete with work for their parents' attention and it is important that they always know that fundamentally they come first.  It isn't always easy. But women struggle through and they try to make the best of it for themselves and their children and most often, I think, they do.

I always assumed that I would be financially independent. When my husband and I were first married he was a student again and starting a political career and after that I always had the bigger income. I've never depended, financially, on anyone. But financial independence isn't the prime motivator for me. In publishing, that has been commitment, passion and a belief in the purpose of publishing books that enrich people's lives.