The trouble with women umpires is that I couldn't argue with one. I'd put my arms around her and give her a little kiss.

In discussions around the hiring and firing of Black faculty at universities the charge is frequently heard that Black women are more easily hired than are Black men.

I just love bossy women. I could be around them all day. To me bossy is not a pejorative term at all. It means somebody's passionate and engaged and ambitious and doesn't mind leading.

Something that's such a joy in my life every day - cooking - is this incredible horrific danger to women around the world.

A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors young and old seem to be afflicted by android Barbie creep. All those thick swatches of lifeless strands clustering lankly round ladies' necks! Like orange tanning spray this is a fashion fad that should be put out of its misery.

With women I've got a long bamboo pole with a leather loop on the end. I slip the loop around their necks so they can't get away or come too close. Like catching snakes.

Bias has to be taught. If you hear your parents downgrading women or people of different backgrounds why you are going to do that.

Ageism works in both directions. As a teenager in the public eye people would talk condescendingly to me. When you get older there's this feeling that you have to start carving up your face and body. Right now I'm in the middle ground - I think women in their thirties are taken seriously.

I'm surrounded by very powerful women and very progressive men.

There's always a miasma of misinformation emerging from the higher education sector as to which are the 'best' courses to take. My advice would always be to ignore the perceived wisdom and look for the most reliable evidence on the ground.