Nancy Clark: Among our audience are 35,000 professional women each month. Their concern is frustration in not reaching the upper levels of corporations. Looking at the statistics, it appears gender is making a difference — 16% of upper management is female (46.5% of workforce is female). What advice and insights do you have for women?

Madeleine Albright: I tell women to act in a more confident manner. You need to learn to interrupt. Ask questions when they occur to you and don’t wait to ask. Also, you don’t need to ask permission to ask a question.

Be a risk taker; business appreciates risk takers. This trait is desirable in prospective leaders.

I want to emphasize: Don’t be a woman with a chip on her shoulder. I see many women with this attitude. They don’t accomplish as much as they could. Others don't want to assist them with their concerns.

Nancy Clark: Do you see business starting to appreciate the talents women can add?

Madeleine Albright: Yes, I see relational leadership skills beginning to be highly valued by business. Sometimes being a woman is an advantage in business. Women are excellent multi-taskers, and as such, are well suited to new business demands. When my daughters had children, they perfected this talent and could appreciate how I’ve used it in my life. Multi-tasking is necessary for raising children and now is very important in the way business needs to be conducted.