Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you especially to our two guests today. It has certainly been a pleasure to listen to both of you.
I'm going to refer to the previous two witnesses and then tie it in to a very specific question to both of you.
One of the previous witnesses indicated that in many cases women who succeed do so because they are driven to succeed or have a desire to succeed. In the same conversation, the witnesses also mentioned—I have the quote here—that in many cases women may feel the effort or sacrifice to succeed is too much, and they simply opt out.
I'm going to relate this to my personal life example. I ran three times for my political party, the Conservative Party, through three elections. I campaigned for six years straight. I made huge sacrifices. Basically, in the last 10 years, I have given up most of my time and holidays with my previous employer and devoted it to politicking. Some might say I'm driven in that particular case.
Looking at the two of you and hearing your speeches today as witnesses before this committee, it's obvious that both of you are driven young women. I'm a little bit older, but I think we have that same desire to succeed and to make a real difference in the lives of Canadian women.
My question is this. The focus of this study is economic prosperity and empowering young girls to succeed in leadership roles. What makes some women want to succeed while others simply opt out? What do you think it is? What is the message that Status of Women Canada can deliver through Status of Women Canada projects, etc., to young girls to make more of them want to succeed like us?