Employers are ignoring huge pool of female talent, says Amey HRD

Last week a report, from telecommunications firm O2, found half of women think they can't 'have it all'. Hughes-D'Aeth said she agrees and said it's hard for women to combine a successful career and have a family.

Drawing on her own experiences she said: "When I first had children I decided to take a step-back and go down to three days a week, because I'd rather have that time with my children. This did mean changing employers, as the company at the time wouldn't allow me to do this."

She said while many employers are starting to change working practices and make their companies more attractive to female workers, some need a "complete culture change".

"Women who have had time out become less confident and less pushy about promoting themselves outside of the office," she said.

"There are some women who have fantastic potential but unfortunately don't want to go further, so it's about changing the culture to welcome them back into the workforce."