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'Marry someone 20 years older to get ahead'

Last updated on: March 23, 2013 12:19 IST
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns speaks at a news conference with fellow U.S. executives about their group's recommendations to Congress and the president to revolutionize U.S. energy innovation at the Newseum in Washington June 10, 2010.

Chairman and CEO of Xerox, Ursula Burns, has revealed that one of the keys to her success was marrying a great man 20 years her senior.

She admitted it while speaking at a conference organized by Catalyst, an organisation aimed at boosting women in the workplace, according to the Wall Street Journal.

So the secret to get ahead in life is to marry someone 20 years older, Burns told the audience Wednesday, the Huffington reported.

'Marry someone 20 years older to get ahead'

Last updated on: March 23, 2013 12:19 IST
Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO of Xerox, speaks at the Reuters Global Media and Technology Summit in New York June 14, 2012.

A mechanical engineer by trade, Burns rose from an internship at Xerox to become the first-ever African-American female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, according to AOL Daily Finance.

Along the way, she met her husband. She said the couple's 20 year age difference meant he could retire and stay at home with their kids once her job got more demanding, the Wall Street Journal stated.

Burns's advice is somewhat similar to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, whose book "Lean In" sparked debates online about how women should approach getting ahead.

'Marry someone 20 years older to get ahead'

Last updated on: March 23, 2013 12:19 IST
Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg delivers a keynote address at Facebook's

For her part, Sandberg has said her husband's willingness to split housework and childcare responsibilities is vital to her success.

"I tell young women the most important career choice you're going to make is who your life partner is," Sandberg said in a 2011 interview with Business Insider.

'Marry someone 20 years older to get ahead'

Last updated on: March 23, 2013 12:19 IST
IBM Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board Virginia Rometty gives a speech to the Appeal of Conscience Foundation in New York September 27, 2012.

They are not alone the luckiest women. The husband of IBM's first female CEO, Virginia Rometty, reportedly opted for a flexible career path that allowed him to ease his wife's rise to the top.

'Marry someone 20 years older to get ahead'

Last updated on: March 23, 2013 12:19 IST
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was nominated by former U.S. president Bill Clinton, makes remarks during a forum at the Newseum to mark the 30th anniversary of the first female Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's first term on the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, April 11, 2012.

Martin Ginsburg, the late husband of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, used to joke that he picked up and moved to Washington D.C., because his wife had been offered "a good job.

Source: ANI