More mothers returning to work

Women spend more time caring for their children than men

The majority of mothers of under-fives now have full-time or part-time jobs, according to research published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday.

In 1980 just 31% were working, according to a government study.

But today the figure is 55%, and those with older offspring are even more likely to have found employment.

Of mothers with children aged five to 10, 73% have jobs. And those whose dependents are 11 to 15 are more likely to be working than childless women.

Jill Kirby, of the Centre for Policy Studies, told the Daily Mail newspaper: "A very high proportion of these women are working when they don't want to.

"Many of them are doing part-time jobs while their children are in day care.

Full-time jobs

"But all the evidence shows most women with children under five would prefer to be at home."

In November a report from the Institute for Social and Economic Research found that children of mothers who had gone back to work before they started school developed more slowly emotionally, and performed less well in reading and maths tests, than children of mothers who had stayed at home.

The effect continued into the children's teenage years, with a mother's early return to work reducing a child's chance of progressing to A-levels from 60 to 50%.

Focus on Gender, one of the ONS' new online reports based on sources including the Labour Force Survey, the General Household Survey and the 2001 Census, also indicates women spend more time caring for their children than men - even if they have full-time jobs.

Watching television

Women living with partners and working full time spend an average of almost four and a half hours with their children every weekday.

But men in the same circumstance spend around an hour a day less with their offspring.

At weekends the amount of time rises to around six and a half hours for men and women.

But while women are more likely to do housework with their children, men spend more time watching television.