75 per cent of women have no female role model at work

Women face a multitude of barriers to career progression including a lack of role models, age and motherhood

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(Image credit: Rex Features)

Women face a multitude of barriers to career progression including a lack of role models, age and motherhood

Women do not just have to smash through one glass ceiling to claim the best jobs but several, new research has found.

Research from professional services company Ernst & Young found that two-thirds of the 1,000 working women they interviewed between the ages of 18-60 faced multiple career battles including age, lack of female role models, motherhood and qualifications and experience.

They can be experienced at any time in a woman’s career and more than one can occur at the same time. Although they are not exclusive to women, it is believed that employers need to provide better support for women.

An astonishing 75% of women have few or no female role models within their organisation to look up to, with 8% admitting that this actually had a detrimental impact on their career to date.

Age has been highlighted as the biggest obstacle during a women’s career, with concerns of being either too young or too old. Almost one third of the women interviewed felt that age had impacted their career to date and a further 27% said they believed it would inhibit their future progression.

Motherhood played an equally as important role, with many women taking maternity leave at some point in their career. One fifth believed it has had an impact of their career to date. Have you been affected by barriers in the workplace? What did you do to combat them? Let us know in the comments below.

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