But sometimes it's hard for a woman to see it, when the message she is constantly receiving is 'Don't you work?' 'Aren't you bored?' 'Why are you wasting your degree?' 'What do you do all day?' "Are you just a mother?' (that's the one the hurts the most)/ It takes a strong inner conviction to withstand the constant doubting from others. I know. I had a quarter of a century of it.