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Experiences of and views about family policies from women:

"I was refused a promised promotion following having my child and told that was why. I was told that I needed to prove that I was still dedicated to my work and has to jump through hoops, that no make collleague had to go through."

Anon

"There has to be an understanding that regardless of gender if a person takes time out of work from 6 months to 5 years for life reasons that will have a negative impact on their performance and commercial worth. This can be combated through the provision of greater child care opportunities at work and through greater sharing of paternity care when one party stays at home while the other works, regardless of gender. The choice to have children is a privilege and one which should be planned for by government, a well notified employer and critically those persons starting a family."

Anon

"I believe that one of the reasons that the construction industry is less attractive to women is that it is very difficult to juggle a professional career with family. I have progressed to Director level in our architectural practice and have done so while also having my family but I have had to work full time and this places huge strains on family life at times. It is not that our practice would not allow me to reduce my hours but rather the nature of construction and project management that makes it very difficult not to be constantly available to clients."

Anon

"The biggest thing that would help women to return to work after break or kids would be if jobs were open to being part-time - a few extra days leave is not enough. Many men would also benefit from that option - search advertised jobs - they are almost all full time and office/ site based. Flexibility around home working is only available to those already in full time roles…."

Anon

"For me, all parental leave (maternity, paternity, adoption) should be shared parental leave. If most couples still choose for the woman to take the majority of the time off, that’s up to them, but we must move as quickly as possible to an official position that assumes men and women have an equal role in parenting. This is one of the biggest factors holding women back, because it impacts on all of us, not just those who have or want children. It might lessen the extent to which discussions about equality for women in the workplace are continually brought back to child rearing, which serves as a distraction from, for example, the fact that even when it’s taken out of the equation, a gender pay gap still exists. In the 20 years I’ve been in the industry, I’ve observed a small increase in the proportion of women, but otherwise not all that much change."

Anon