Nearly half of Irish women feel that society does not value women who work in the home equally with women 
who do paid work, according to a new survey.
The poll, carried out by Ipsos/MORI on behalf of the Irish Times, found that 43pc of women felt that Irish society valued women who work outside the home more than homemakers.
The survey asked: “Which does Irish society value more: women who work in the home or women who work outside of the home?”
The poll showed that 45pc of women said they were valued equally; only nine percent said that women in the home were valued more. Two percent said they didn’t know.
Fifty four percent of men said that both types of work were valued equally, with 28pc saying that women who worked outside the home were valued more. Only 14pc said that women who worked in the home were valued more.
Women and men hold very different view about progress rates in a typical workplace: a belief that men progress faster was held by 46 per cent of women but just 35 per cent of men.
According to 56 per cent of men and 46 per cent of women, both sexes had the same rate of progress, with just 6 per cent of women and 5 per cent of men saying women were promoted more quickly.
Those who believed men progressed faster – 40 per cent of all respondents – were then asked to give reasons why they believed this to be the case.
Women taking maternity leave was cited as a reason by a number of respondents, with 26 per cent of women and 14 per cent of men opting for this explanation.
“Culture/tradition” and a tendency for some men to put career before family were also cited.
Women gave a generally positive response to a question about the balance they had between work and leisure.
When asked, “Do you feel that you have a good or a poor work-life balance?”, 83 per cent of them said the balance was good. The equivalent figure for men was 75 per cent.
Three-quarters of respondents worked for a private sector or semi-State company, with the rest employed by the Government in the public service. Women outnumbered men in the public service, at 26 per cent of women and 18 per cent of men.
This may go some way to explaining why career breaks, flexitime and term-time working were more readily available to women.
In another question, respondents were asked if they earned enough to be financially independent or if they needed the income of another family member or the State to have a reasonable standard of living.
Just half of women in employment, including those who are self-employed, indicated their earnings alone would ensure they were financially secure.
In the case of men, 68 per cent said they were paid enough to be financially independent; 31 per cent said they would need help from family or the Government to be so.
When it came to the question of commitment to their employment, 65 per cent of men and 70 per cent of women in relationships said both parties were equally focused on their jobs or careers.
But 23 per cent of women said their spouse or partner was more focused. Almost a quarter of men believed they were the more focused member of the couple, compared with seven per cent of women.