Most people believe that children hinder women’s careers and advancement opportunities

Of these, 57 percent said taking maternity leave can hinder careers.

However, less than half – 43 percent – said women are still seen as the main carers in households.

Matrix Recruitment’s annual Workplace Equality Survey found that more than a third of respondents believe employers question a mother’s ability to meet the demands of her role.

A similar number felt that employers still have an unconscious bias towards women who may be considering starting a family.

The survey also found that age discrimination in the workplace is on the rise.

A total of 77 percent of people in the survey of more than 2,700 people said age discrimination in the workplace was a problem, a 13 percent increase from last year’s results.

“There’s no reason why a woman shouldn’t be able to climb the corporate ladder while raising a family,” said Breda Dooley of Matrix Recruitment.

“However, our survey results indicate that a woman’s chances of advancement can be negatively impacted by her marital status.

“The fact that employees perceive bosses questioning a mother’s ability to meet the demands of her job role is worrying.”

She said this unconscious bias, known as maternity punishment, can hamper a woman’s earning potential and threaten her financial security.

Ms Dooley said this feeds into the larger issue of the gender pay gap and the so-called ‘glass ceiling’, which refers to invisible barriers to success preventing women from being promoted. “Businesses, government and society must work together to address these issues if we are to move forward in this area,” she said.

However, the results show some positive changes compared to the recruiter’s survey in 2021. The number of people who indicated that women are still considered the primary carers has decreased by 44 percent and stood at 77 percent in 2021.

A total of 35 percent said employers have an unconscious preference for women intending to start a family, compared to 68 percent in 2021.

However, those without children also report being discriminated against.

A total of 22 percent said they were expected to work off-hours because they don’t have children.

Those who reported experiencing this type of discrimination were split evenly between men and women.

The survey found that most people faced some form of discrimination in the workplace.

Almost a quarter said they were excluded from activities because of their age.

Almost half said workers over 50 had fewer opportunities for advancement compared to their younger counterparts.

When asked at what age it might be difficult to change jobs, 26pc said those over 50 would struggle.

Four out of five respondents said workers over 50 contribute as much as workers under 40.

Of these, 51 percent said older workers were more reliable. However, 21pc said they had less to contribute, with half claiming they don’t understand new ways of communicating.

Almost half of them said younger people had more energy for a job.