One in five senior women recruiters claim their company discriminates against women when recruiting for senior management roles, despite published company diversity policies, according to research from recruitment specialist in finance, accounting, HR, banking and financial services Poolia.

Almost a third (30%) do not think women have the same opportunities as men, and almost half believe women who take their full maternity leave will damage their career. Consequently almost one in four of the female recruiters interviewed think career-oriented women should take a shorter maternity break.

Olivia Yost, Poolia’s business development director, says: “I’ve experienced this challenge myself from both sides of the fence, as a director of Poolia but also having taken two career breaks to have children. It can be difficult to strike a balance between the commercial requirements of running a business and offering flexibility in the workplace. Both parties need to be prepared to compromise so the result is mutually beneficial.  As companies become increasingly aware of the need to retain key staff adopting a more flexible approach to working patterns can have considerable value in increasing commitment and longevity of service.”