British women are more pessimistic than men about their future prospects in the workplace, finds research.

British women are more pessimistic than men about their future prospects in the workplace, finds research.

Just over half of women expect more opportunities for females at work in the future than ever before, against almost two thirds of men, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Some 53 per cent of women and 29 per cent of men believe women will never be equal to men in terms of pay.

Three out of five women believe childcare will always hold them back, despite the majority (62 per cent) saying traditional gender roles in the home and workplace are becoming less important.

Women rank experience as the most important factor in being successful at work (49 per cent), with university education coming third (38 per cent) behind getting into a profession like law or accountancy (47 per cent).

Both men and women see the IT sector as offering the most opportunities for women in the future.

Isabelle Jenkins, partner at PwC and leader of PwC’s Women’s Network says, ‘Men have high expectations for the issues women face at work being resolved, while also holding much of the power base to influence its change.’

Dawn Nicholson, PwC human resources consulting partner, adds that the pessimistic outlook from women is also one of the forces that seems to suppress female aspirations and ambition at work.

‘Our research showed that among young women who’ve entered the workforce in the UK only half of females believe they will rise to the top with their current employer, compared to 73 per cent of males.’

Respondents were asked what they thought would be the biggest influences on their daughter’s career choices, with 58 per cent feeling pay would be the top influence on their daughter’s career choices.

Equal pay and promotion prospects were picked as the top two areas that need to improve by both males and females.

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