It’s just about making parenthood practically possible in the way that most forward-thinking companies do: just being flexible and remembering that children don’t stay children for long.

One person was hired when she was six months pregnant. She worked for just a few weeks then went on a year’s maternity leave. She came back, was promoted four times over the next ten years and is now at board level, same company. That was a tiny blip in her career.

Another dropped to part time when she came back from maternity leave — first three days a week, then four, four-and-a-half and finally full time. She’s now a CEO.

I work flexible hours (9-ish to 5-ish with some leeway) and expect to be able to work from home when I need to. I enjoy, but don’t abuse, the privilege. I expect to be able to call in and say that I need to take the day off because my child is sick — it happened regularly when she was one, but I can’t remember the last time it happened (maybe a year or more ago). I didn’t go on work trips until she was five, but I’m OK with them now. I don’t accept every social invitation, but every year, I accept more.

That’s all I need — the practical side.

Children are only helpless for five years and dependent for another seven, after which they are tiny adults who need a bit of extra attention — but not the same kind of emotional and physical labour as a toddler.

Put that into the context of an almost-fifty-year working life. You can be flexible for just a few years of that.