Traditional wisdom suggests that rabbits outrun foxes because they are running for their lives while the foxes are running for their dinners.
I recently met a woman who had moved here from Miami two years ago who was originally from Cuba. She went to Miami as a refugee. There the Spanish community found her some work in a high end furniture store in order to help her secure her legal status there. When she started working there she spoke no English although the majority of the clients this company served were Americans who spoke no Spanish. She secured landed immigrant status and did her best to learn a bit of English when she wasn’t working 16 hour days. A few years later she was recognized as the company’s top sales representative in a field of over 250 sales representatives from across America - despite the fact that she still spoke no English and most of her clients did not speak Spanish.
This woman's story reminds me of a quote from my own Mother, a post-war immigrant from Germany; “Desperation is a very good motivator. Believe me.”
Frankly, I don't think that those who are looking for “work-life-balance” stand a chance against women (and men) who are this desperate + motivated.