hello there.: 'The penance for being a career woman is barrenness'

In a recent interview with Redbook magazine, Gabrielle Union got candid about the struggles many woman face in deciding if and when to start a family.
"The reality is that women are discriminated against in the workplace for being mothers," Union told the magazine for the October 2015 issue. "As much as there are strides being made -- you get pregnant, your career takes a hit. You can't have a bad day. Don't you dare cry at work. Don't raise your voice. Especially if you're a black woman in corporate America -- now you're 'the angry black woman.'"

Gabrielle Union - rocking an embroidered Escada top - is stressing over IVF procedures with her second husband Dwyane Wade.

'So far, it has not happened for us,' lamented the Top Five actress, who turns 43 next month.

'A lot of my friends deal with this. There's a certain amount of shame that is placed on women who have perhaps chosen a career over starting a family younger. The penance for being a career woman is barrenness. You feel like you're wearing a scarlet letter.'

At 33, the 6ft4in Miami Heat shooting guard is nearly a decade Union's junior.

'I realized his friends, his teammates, were conceived when I was, like, a senior in high school,' the UCLA grad laughed.

'I was in high school at the same time as their parents! Sometimes he'll be like, "Oh, my God, he's so old!" about someone who's 35. But, Dwyane's an old 33, and I'm a young 42, so it balances out.'

Gabrielle is now stepmother to the NBA player's blended brood - sons Zaire, 13, Zion, 8 (with ex-wife #1 Siohvaughn Funches), and 22-month-old son Xavier (with Aja Metoyer); as well as his 13-year-old nephew Dahveon.