From Ulrika Johnnson, News of the World - Jan 8th 2006

The Equal Opportunities Commission's Who Runs Britain survey says that the way the UK is going, it could take up to 200 years for women to catch up with male colleagues on pay. So why should anybody be surprised that a magazine survey reveals that only six per cent of mothers want a career?

It would be a tough option for women to make at the best of times as it involves long-work-hours culture, which is coupled with the responsibility of running the home. That combination can be quite crippling for women so why should women be put though it if they are not going to get a fair deal out of it.

There are many thankless or unpaid tasks that women undertake, such as caring for a child or the elderly, which is partly because women want to but more importantly because no one else is prepared to do so. And it is because of these factors that you see increasing number of women demanding LESS.

If a mother who is one of the six per cent that would like to pursue a career then it would put them under tremendous stress as they would loss a huge chunk of their earnings to pay for decent childcare and that's if they can find it as well. Further more, women have to get used to being castigated by all sorts of experts for not spending enough or all the time with their kids.
Even after Mrs. Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister, which was nearly 30 yeas ago:

• Only 20 per cent of women are MPs
• Very few women make it a senior judges (nine Per cent)
• And only ten per cent make it as top police officers

So we need to think how it can be fixed? And the solution to that is women NEED more high-quality, well-paid, flexible work and yes, allowances should be made available for women at work.

Women should be valued, listened to and invested in as part of tomorrow's workforce. They should not be seen as a soft touch just because they are forced to have a part-time job or scoffed at for attempting to get ahead. This should be considered whether women are at home raising their children or behind the desk in an office because what ever they are doing they are also contributing and that NEEDS to be taken in consideration, but more importantly there needs to be less pressure on women to be perfect at everything.

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Also did you know that it's been: -

• 76 years since women won the right to vote
• 40 years since women achieved sexual liberation
• 35 years since the Equal Pay Act came into force
• 30 years since the Sex Discrimination Act took effect

After three decades of legislation designed to remedy inequalities in the work environment there is still a lot more to be done to close the gender gap. Women still face economic discrimination, sexual stereotyping and inadequate support to progress in their chosen profession.