I highly recommend this HBR article on women professionals and the struggle to reenter the workforce after taking time off to raise a family or care for elderly parents. New
survey research (unveiled for the first time in the article) reveals
the extent of the problem – what percentage of highly qualified women
leave work and for how long, what obstacles they face coming back, and
what price they pay for their time out. Case examples reveal some
promising solutions.

Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success
by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Carolyn Buck Luce
Harvard Business Review, March 2005 (Reprint No R0503B)

Available for purchase here.