It seems that in my community, we are somewhat progressive in that there are a lot of local businesses owned by women.  Personally, I have never been barred from participating in anything so far in my community just for being a girl.  I enjoyed when, a couple years ago, some girls auditioned for "Mr. Red Hook," breaking that barrier.  It's also great to see women involved in STEM...at the high school, there are girls on the robotics team, for example.  I haven't really seen any barriers.  On a global scale, we are very lucky.  I made two friends this past summer at the Girl's Leadership Worldwide conference through the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill.  These two girls were from Pakistan, and they were interested in speaking out against arranged marriages in their communities.  It horrified me, and really put things into perspective.  It's a small world, so it should be communities like ours that are helping these communities in need.  :)  

The one thing that is most important to me ... Family