I can definitely respond as somebody who has been through that experience. As a scientist, I can say without a doubt that if I didn't have female role models who balanced life and family and science, I wouldn't be here today. It's definitely the case that women half a generation to a generation earlier didn't have those women mentors, because women who went into science didn't have families. It was very rare to see a female full professor who had a family.
I think there is something about looking at somebody and saying, “I can be like them and I can do what they're doing”.