The number of mothers with children under four who thought that family life would suffer if women worked full-time fell in the years before Tony Blair took office, dropping from 43 per cent in 1990 to 21 per cent in 1998. But by 2002 it was rising and in 2006 had soared to 37 per cent.

Similarly the number of women in the same category who agreed that most women want a home and children fell between 1994 and 2002 to 15 per cent.
Regression? Women in 2010 are turning their backs on high-powered careers to raise their children

Regression? Women in 2010 are turning their backs on high-powered careers to raise their children

But in 2006, the last time the question was asked in the survey, that number had rocketed to 32 per cent – higher even than back in 1986 when it stood at 20 per cent.

By far the biggest leap came when women were asked whether they agreed that men and women should have different roles.

In 1986, 40 per cent of women with children under four said ‘yes’, four years later that had plummeted to 13 per cent and by 2002 it had dropped still lower to 2 per cent.

In 2006, however, that had jumped back up to 17 per cent.