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UK Wedding News

21/10/2014

Half Of British Women Would Sacrifice A Family For A Career

A new study has revealed that 67% of women in Britain are concerned about the impact starting a family could have on their career.

In fact, half of women believe having a child can harm their career so much, that they would actually consider remaining childless.

The research, commissioned by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), also found that half of women – who don't have children – feel their current job doesn't offer the appropriate flexibility they would need to care for a family.

Some 2,000 were surveyed by the company, half with children and half with no children, and of those who were parents, half admitted they had missed at least one milestone in their child's life due to work commitments.

For example, 20% of mums missed a sports day or school play, while 16% said they missed their child's first word and 15% missed their first steps.

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55% of mothers said trying to balance childcare and work had been a "barrier" to staying in their job, with 20% citing a lack of support from their employer as making the situation more difficult.

Of the mums who took part in the poll, 38% said they took six months or less of maternity leave, with financial concerns being the main cause for 62% returning to work. An additional third of mums said they were concerned they would lose their job.

Having become a parent, 24% of women said they had actually changed careers after welcoming a child, while 65% said they would consider re-training. Reasons for this, was said to be due to the option of working more flexible hours, or wanting better wages.

Aimee Bateman, AAT Career Coach, said the findings, "whilst sad, are unfortunately not surprising".

She added: "In my work I have come across a lot of women who worry about balancing their care and career commitments or who have decided to retrain as their current role provides little flexibility.

"This is a shame as working mums are brilliant employees who can often get more done in less time. This is what is important: the quality of work people produce, not the number of hours that they sit at their desk.

"While there is obviously an issue in the nation's workplaces, there are options that women can explore."

(JP)

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"A new study has revealed that 67% of women in Britain are concerned about the impact starting a family could have on their career."