Having babies is 'barrier to equality' says former Equalities Minister

Comments come in the wake of EU debate on quotas in the boardroom

Women having children is key in preventing them from being fully equal to men, according to former Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone.

‘One of the main barriers to full equality in the UK is the fact that women still have babies,’ she told theThe Telegraphnewspaper.

‘I think that it [having a baby] is a bit of a setback to women because it gives an opportunity – whether it’s in commerce, politics or wherever you work – to men to climb the ladder faster. There is a period of a woman’s life – where she may need to take a break or work at a different rate,’ she continued.

ONLY ONE IN FIVE SENIOR ROLES IN THE CITY ARE FILLED BY WOMEN

Featherstone went on to argue that many ‘mediocre’ men end up on the board of directors simply due to connections, and the fact that they had no career break along the way.

The single mother of two suggests women are deprived from the same kind of networking opportunities which, coupled with a career break, means women have to ‘fight every inch of the way.’

This comes in the wake of advancements that suggest gender quotas should be placed on boardrooms in order to ensure a base number of women executives.

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