The majority of British women want both a career AND a family – but motherhood comes first
In an International Omnibus Survey conducted to mark International Women’s Day, YouGov finds that women around the world overwhelmingly prioritise being a mother over having a career, although most – particularly younger women – prefer to have both.
Around four in five British women say being a mother is “more important” than having a career, while only 6% put having a career first.
The belief that being a mother comes first is shared by 71% of women in the United States, 82% of women in France and 79% of women in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries surveyed.
Of course, family and career are not mutually exclusive, and the majority of British women (54%) do or did aspire to have both a family and a career. This aspiration is particularly common among younger women, who are also much more likely than their older counterparts to postpone starting a family in order to build their careers.
Public safety
The survey also found that women are much more likely to feel safe on the streets in some regions than they are in others. For instance, three-quarters (76%) of women in the UK feel safe on the streets, but only half (50%) of French women feel safe on the streets.
