As I’ve addressed previously, the developed world suffers from a severe lack of females in boardrooms and top company positions. While much of this can be attributed to the ‘mens club’ mentality of many work places, it is also important to consider why many women don’t even try to break through the glass ceiling.

Because it is women who are responsible for the bulk of domestic duties and childcare it is they who are most often faced with the impossible decision: Career or family? Their answer to this question often leaves them without a glass ceiling to break though.

As a twenty year old student with dreams of a postgraduate-level education and a highly demanding career as a clinical psychologist I am already dreading the stage of my life where this choice arises. I don’t want to give up having a family but I don’t want to throw my expensive education and passion for psychology down the drain either.

The obvious solution to my and almost every other women's problem is flexibility. But how much will flexibility really help if it isn’t met with a change in attitude by those in the workplace?

Currently, those who choose to work part-time aren’t considered to be serious about their careers and are often looked over when it comes to promotions. There is also an inflexibility in working hours that women have to struggle with that holds them back even further. This is all in spite of the research which shows employers who are more open to different working hours and even the possibility of working from home are actually rewarded with more productive and higher performing staff*. The cost and availability of childcare is also an issue for many families and is yet another reason why nearly 50% of women give up their careers for lower-paying, lower-status jobs*.

In order to achieve real equality and give women the chance to enjoy a successful career whilst also raising a family, employers need to learn to value the benefits that women can bring to a business. Legislating on this issue would also help.

I’m not arguing that women should be given special rights over men, because I don’t think we should be. But I think that it needs to be recognised that women face a whole range of issues in getting employment which impact on everyone. Not only do businesses lose out but so too do the children involved. In the UK, a mothers low income is the source of 70% of child poverty.

Isn’t it time to look at the bigger picture? This isn’t about whinging, selfish women- gender inequality affects everyone.

*As cited in The Equality Illusion, Kat Banyard 2010