John Bercow: women behave better than men in Parliament He praised the decision by politicians to meet and finish earlier on Tuesday, which was decided on through a vote in July 2012 - but said there was still a lot more that could be done to make a political career easier to juggle with having children. "This old fashioned 19th century culture of going on in the Commons until 10pm, in my view, is not conducive to good working," Mr Bercow said. Parliamentary colleagues might think they are at their best at midnight or 1am - but thinking you at your best and being at your best are not the same thing. In my view it's a significant deterrent to serve in the House[of Commons]... if we have these very late finishes as there is very little opportunity to frame family life around this job. Currently 22 per cent of MPs are women. Last week Prime Minister David Cameron came under fire from Dame Helen Ghosh, one of Whitehall's most senior female bosses. She said that women find it hard to break into "Old Etonian cliques" such as David Cameron's network of old chums just weeks after retiring as Permanent Secretary of the Home Office. In remarks to students at Cambridge University, quoted by the London Evening Standard, Dame Helen said the Prime Minister was surrounded by friends from school and university. Speaking for the first time since leaving her job, Dame Helen said it was "difficult for women to get in" to Old Etonian circles.