Our answer to this conundrum at She Negotiates is to provide not only the cultural context for our hesitation, but also the support of a community for our first babysteps to asking for and getting not only what we need, but also what we want.
The professional landscape has changed since her childhood and even my own if not in leaps and bounds at lea tint he babysteps that have come as a result of affirmative action and shifting societal attitudes towards gender roles.