WIC workshop

My April Fool's post was inspired by a Women in Chemistry workshop I went to at the end of March. I almost didn't attend because I would like to see a professional development workshop for all graduate students, not just women. But as I sat there, I realized the need for such workshops specifically for women.
For one, it was nice to see a seminar room full of women in science when women usually represent 5-20% of the population in a given seminar room. 75% of the information given was useful to any graduate student, but I realized there were some issues that only concerned women. Clothing:  Men were a suit to an interview, but women have choices. That choice could ruin the interview before you ever say a word. Children: The desire to have a family impacts a woman more than a man because she must at least take time off to have the kid. Many students asked questions regarding how employers respond to this, and when is the best time to start a family.  I was... bored during this discussion, because I will probably never have a child... but I understood this may be the only time some students get to discuss this aspect with peers. Networking: I must admit, this talk bugged me. The speaker was older, from a different generation, and I didn't think most of it was applicable. She asked, how do you network when all of the guys are going to the bar afterwards for a drink?  Quite a few people, myself included spoke up and said "you go to the bar with them." You don't have to drink to sit there and chat.  
In all, it was worth the time going, and not just because I got to see some softball friends.  One woman I played softball with currently has a fellowship in public policy for education.  I talked with her about this for a while because I'm somewhat interested in public policy, for science and education.  The downside is, I don't want to abandon research, but it's something that's hard to take time off from and get back into later.  She solved this by doing research on the side, but you have to know the right people to be able to pull that off.  Research, teach, help set policy... all sound good to me... and only 1+ years to decide.