Throughout Asia, there is a growing trend among women to hold off marriage until later in life or even to completely forgo the act. In doing so, women are having less children and doing so at later ages, resulting in a significant drop in the birthrate in many Asian countries. The inequity between the roles of men and women in the family is much more pronounced in Asia than it is in Western cultures. It is therefore extremely difficult for Asian women to pursue a career and family life at the same time. Women often find that it is in their best interest to make good use of their education in the workplace and avoid the additional demands of a family.

The making of a successful woman executive in business or government isn't a unique thing. What makes such women noticeable is that they've learned to master a career game that's been dominated by men for decades. Since the 1980s, such women have been earning more master's degrees in business, rising to higher positions, and becoming more and more visible to the general public and news media, some through great careers, others because they crashed and burned. Their stories in many cases are no different from their male counterparts' except for gender, and in many cases that one fact has made the challenges they faced much harder and these executives much stronger.