Working mothers admit starting a family set back their careers But the research by ICM for Santander, the bank, found that only just over half of them believe that employers should be made to "guarantee" new mothers the opportunity to stay in the same role as before they had children but with more flexible hours. Just under one in 10 of the working mothers polled said they had taken a temporary career break. Professor Michelle Ryan, an expert in workplace psychology from Exeter University, said: "Obviously many factors come into play for a woman planning a family, as each individual's circumstances will be different. However, it's clear that employers need to create workplaces which offer real flexibility that reflect the needs of today's employees if we're to see women appropriately represented at senior management level in the future. We need a step change in attitudes to flexible working in order to help create diverse businesses that fully reflect society.