Mothers dissatisfied as working week lengthens

Women
with children are spending more time at work than they did a decade ago and are
increasingly unhappy with the length of their working day.

A
new survey of 1,100 women across a broad range of occupations reveals that only
29 per cent are "completely satisfied"  with their working hours, compared to 51 per cent in 1992.

Mothers
with a dependant child aged between 12 and 15 now work around five hours a week
more than in the early 1990s.

The
research reveals that although the increase in hours is financially
motivated,  women also feel slightly
less pressured to work, with 49 per cent feeling they are expected to earn,
compared to 51 per cent in 1992.

Michael
White, co-director of the study, said, "At present, we have at best half
the ingredients for women with children to develop a satisfactory working life.
The other half must include shorter hours for male partners so that they can do
more to help at home, and greater equality in pay so that women do not need to
work as long to balance the household budget."

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The
research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, also shows that
IT has increased women’s workloads, with those with access to computers working
on average 3.4 hours a week more than those who do not.

By
Ross Wigham