More than 80% of women feel that having children will affect their career progression, a survey has revealed.
Around 14,000 women have already completed the survey, which is ongoing. Current results have shown that 72% of women feel “conflicted” in their ability to balance family and career.
Many (69%) feel society expects women to place family before their career. And most women (91%) believe senior roles involve pressure, long hours ad high stress levels.
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has urged women in business to respond to the survey, which attempts to gather information on women’s experiences of work.
Project 28-40, launched by Opportunity Now, Business in the Community, aims to record the views of 100,000 women to find out why they are not promoted at the same rate as men.
Kathryn Nawrockyi, director of Opportunity Now, said: “The early results of the survey highlight a conundrum that many women face: they want to work and develop their careers, but they often perceive the sacrifices and pressures as too great. These early indications show that there remain serious issues that need tackling.”
Balls said: “We still have a long way to go to achieve true equality in the workplace for women. I urge women in businesses across the UK to add their voices to this survey in order to be as representative as possible.
“Let’s beat the target of 100,000 women’s voices so we can help push policy makers to understand the challenge and rise to it.”
