Networking can be a struggle whether you’re a shrinking violet or the life of the party. But before you make that first networking step, it’s crucial to know the two most important rules about why people do or do not get hired in the first place.

More money, alternative work arrangements or leadership opportunities on the job are not entitlements that happen by themselves.

It is taking a long time for us to have a healthy number of women in positions of power. But it’s hard not to wonder what thorny problems could be worked out if more women were running Wall Street and Washington.