Employers should provide working mothers with ‘nanny vouchers’ to help pay for childcare costs, a think-tank has recommended.
The vouchers would be used to help employees pay for domestic help, including nannies, cooks and cleaners.
The think-tank Demos said the scheme would help mothers to break through the “glass ceiling” which currently prevents women from achieving the same levels of success as their male colleagues.
The recommendation comes after Demos interviewed 620 parents and found that, even when both are working, the mother almost always takes most responsibility for children and housework.
More than 40% of the mothers questioned said they would take the day off work if their child was unexpectedly ill and unable to go to school. But just 3% of women said that their husband or partner would do the same.
Employers can currently give up to £50 a week (free of tax and National Insurance) to new mothers.
