Academic careers in STEM require almost exclusive focus on your career for the first two decades of pursuit. This is simply because that is what the competition

Academic careers in STEM require almost exclusive focus on your career for the first two decades of pursuit. This is simply because that is what the competition does. My anecdata suggests women are less willing to allow a single aspect of their lives to entirely dominate over all others. Child bearing happens to be one of the bigger alternative endeavors, but it's not the only one. Supporting women (and men!) who want to pursue an academic career in STEM while raising a family is a laudable goal. I hope it is more effective than I expect it to be.