It was amazing to see so many leaders (mostly women) gather together from the business world, government, non-profits organizations, higher education, and other areas to mentor and support other women from developing countries, raise funds and awareness for cancer, and guide entrepreneurs like me. 

These women are indeed powerful! It encouraged me to see them overcoming obstacles and doing so much to shape the world’s future. They’re leaving behind a legacy that our sons and daughters can look up to. 

I have to say, “Thank you,” to my mentor and advisor, Susan Lyne, who nominated me to attend this event. Susan is the CEO of Gilt Groupe—one of my favorite shopping sites (70%+ discounts on designer items!). Gilt Groupe is invitation-only, but leave me a comment if you want an invite and I’ll send one out!

On the first night of the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, they welcomed us to dinner and introduced two leaders who are working to help a generation of underprivileged women from developing countries succeed. Penelope Machipi (who runs a computer center for girls in Zambia) and Brigette Dzogbenuku (who started a sports program for girls in Ghana) each received $25,000 through the Goldman Sachs—Fortune Global Women Leaders Award. This award is part of a terrific mentoring program that Goldman Sachs funded with $100 million back in March 2008 to provide 10,000 women from around the world with a business education over the next five years. 

Penolope’s story was very inspiring. Just 22 years old, she manages a computer center for girls in rural Zambia, helping them overcome and avoid lives of poverty and prostitution. She told us that the money will go towards developing a documentary, showing girls what they can achieve by empowering themselves with an education. 

“I never thought this would happen in my life. I thought it was a dream,” Penelope said. “They are admiring me and I am very proud of it. It shows that everything is possible with education. I want to help other girls escape poverty, as I did.” Check out more of Penelope’s incredible story here. 

I met Penelope afterwards and told her she had the most beautiful smile that just exuded joy and confidence. It was infectious!

Meeting billionaire Warren Buffet at breakfast one morning was a highlight! After I filled him in on what we were doing at Care.com, Warren told me he loved what we were doing for families. He is an amazingly down-to-earth, funny, warm and genuinely caring man (quite a feat for the world’s second-richest man and most famous investor!). 

He was on a panel later that morning, and he was extremely witty. When someone asked him which actor he’d want to play the part of Warren Buffett in a movie, he giggled and said, “George Clooney, of course! But definitely not Danny Devito—he’s out.” 

He also shared his financial wisdom. Buffett touched on the economy and said he believed that we would slowly get out of this recession, but we needed to continue saving. He said reduced consumer spending does slow down growth, but creates more stability in the long run.

Later that morning, I attended a panel with Marissa Mayer from Google. She heads up Search Product and User Experience at Google and manages their home page. She came by to show us some of their new gadgets. You could tell she really enjoyed geeking out on some of the cool new things Google is developing. One of the products she demonstrated was a brand new $300 laptop with free operational software that Google hopes to distribute worldwide to help developing countries overcome the technological divide. Marissa gave me hope to see more women in engineering and science leadership roles at large companies making a difference. 

In the afternoon, we heard from Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of Education for the Washington D.C. public school district. She’s made a lot of changes to improve D.C.’s public schools, which hasn’t always made her popular among the District’s teachers—not everyone likes things shaken up! Although she has rap as a “tough woman,” Michelle came across as someone who truly cared about improving our educational system. She asked us, “Would you take your child to a surgeon if you knew they had a 10% chance of success?” Apparently, the DC public school system has similar metrics of student achievement, but she’s working hard to improve that and the early signs are good.  

We also had a surprise visitor who wasn’t part of the original agenda, Susan Sher, Chief of Staff for First Lady Michelle Obama. Susan told us how she was once Michelle’s manager, but now the tables have flipped. The two are still very good friends with a high degree of trust. Hearing Susan talk reminded me of the importance of long-term relationships. I’ve mentioned to other folks I’ve worked with in the past that they could end up hiring me to run one of their companies one day. :-)

Women have come a long way in the few generations since we didn't have the right to vote or sit on juries, but we have even further to go.  I’m proud that more global leaders are realizing that “women and girls aren’t the problem; they’re the solution” (New York Times Magazine). 

If you want to make a difference and help encourage young girls to develop into powerful, world-shaking women, think of supporting organizations like Care.org, Kiva.org, WomenThrive.org, or Charity:Water. These are great groups that work to empower women worldwide by giving them the basic skills, knowledge, and necessities they need to succeed and transform their communities.

We had so many fun entries to our “What would you trade for a housekeeper” post! Everyone really went above and beyond in telling us what they’d give up in order to bring a little more sparkle and shine into their homes. As promised, we’re giving away $200 to the best comment (as picked by the Care.com Team) and four copies of the book, “I’d Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper” to the runners-up. Here are the winners:

Honorable Mentions
“My husband tells me that the amount of housework he puts in is equal to the amount of sex I put in. So yes, I would trade my husband for a housekeeper. Hope he or she likes sarcastic men!
I would also trade my sanity. I am not sure how much I have left of it these days, so that may not get me much more than a toilet scrubbed.” – Kim D.

“I would give up CHOCOLATE for a housekeeper. And that's saying something because my son once told me I was AFFLICTED to it (he meant addicted of course!). To give up chocolate has serious and far reaching consequences because I would have to give up Starbucks Frappacinos, Dove candy bars, Hershey Bliss, Ben & Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, Girhadelli fudge brownies and even Weight Watchers chocolate eclairs, Nutella, and No Pudge Brownies! As you can see, I would be confronted with choices not just at home but in the grocery store, at office parties, and especially Halloween and Easter. Oh the horror!

But the horror of missing chocolate is nothing compared to the horror of the condition of a house occupied by two teenage boys with ADHD and two working parents. My family's collective lack of housekeeping skills, not to mention their lack of concern about the condition of the house, is a daily irritant because they do not perceive it to be their problem. They intuitively know when your house is a mess, a visitor doesn't go away thinking "boy, those kids/that husband keep a messy house" Noooo. It’s always, ‘That WOMAN sure keeps a messy house.’

‘My house was clean on Tuesday. Sorry you missed it.’” - Cindy

“I would trade my mother-in-law for a housekeeper. My MIL is a lovely woman with great intentions. She loves to shop for kids clothes and is a great cookie and bread maker. She also enjoys making homey recipes from women's magazines. My husband loves her chicken and noodles and I love the caramel popcorn she makes every Christmas. She loves our son and is very dedicated to him, making him laugh at every opportunity. She does have an annoying dog and I think that would be part of the package, if you were willing to swap... but, did I mention she is a great cookie baker? She carries on conversations easily and enjoys long walks (with or without the annoying dog). She's yours, in exchange for one housekeeper.” – Emily N.

“I don't have a husband to trade, but I'd trade my pot-bellied pig, BB. (Sorry, Beebs, I just need some help here!) Things are piling up on me as I've spent seven months traveling back and forth, mostly in Texas, helping out with Hurricane Ike disaster relief. I haven’t ave not caught up [with cleaning] since May, either…I can sure use some help to catch up on my chores!” – Doreen C.

Grand Prize Winner ($200!)

“By 4 p.m. I'd trade just about anything for a housekeeper. At that point the bliss of five hours of sleep has long worn off and I'm still in my PJs, and so are my twins. They've eaten breakfast, lunch, and two snacks—some of which I'm still wearing (Who knew 1 year olds like to spit raspberries with full mouths?). I've done four loads of laundry, made 10 bottles, cleaned the kitchen floor and pureed $45 worth of organic fruits and veggies which netted me about three cups of guilt-free food. I've washed and sanitized a mountain of cheerily colored, goofy-eyed baby toys that probably weren't really dirty but they touched the floor so YOU NEVER KNOW. I've played peek-a-boo and giggle bug until I'm silly, and I've spent untold energy trying to distract one of my little wobblers from pulling his brother's hair, or tasting the dog, or putting finger food up his nose, or whatever new exploration is on the agenda that day. By 4 p.m. what I really, really want is the housekeeping fairy to swoop in and spread sparkling cleanliness throughout my whole house so that by 7 p.m. I can sit on a piece of furniture with my feet up and enjoy a glass of wine. Even if it is in a sippy cup.

But despite my desperation at 4 pm, by 5 pm my husband walks through the door and scoops up our sons, full of energy and eager to see how his boys have grown in the last 12 hours. He always has the first kiss for me, and really, he doesn't care so much that there are dirty dishes in the sink and I have sweet potatoes in my hair. And I would never, ever trade that.” - Rachelle