Hey Masha,

I do agree with 99% of your laïus. 
Yes don’t give up, however I’d like to add a bit of a softness regarding your saying.
It’s tough for everyone in this area wether you’re a man or a woman imho.
I understand your background and all you went through nonetheless we’re all struggling with these kind of skills (me first).
It’s pretty hard to make people understand that you’ve got skills and that all the licenses and hardwares you pay for cost you “balls”.
Sure, it’s waaaay more easy to use some cracked plugs, ozone presets or LANDR stuff than asking (and paying) a ME (yeah, you know who you are) for a better result.
So, complaining about the fact you’re a woman doesn’t change a thing to me because I have the same respect for both. But, maybe it’s just me :)
I suppose you charge clients for the rates you think you deserve (and you’re definitely right) but please stop saying it’s harder because of your position : it works the same for any jobs in the world.
It looks like you have to work your ass off twice than a man (mostly partly true for the same result) but you know you have chosen a really “bearded guys” job at the beginning… just sayin’

So yeah : you’re a sound guy mate, don’t be ashamed about it ;)

There are several women whose have proved their skills in this job, so why not you ?