Interim management delivers a more varied and stimulating career than permanent work, according to a new survey of female interim managers.

Interimwomen.com, a business forum supporting women working as interim managers, interviewed 700 female interim managers, with 60% claiming interim work is more interesting and challenging. In addition, 47% said they had learnt new skills and enjoyed working in different industry sectors and 37% are earning more money than previously.

More than half the women (55%) said interim management gave them greater flexibility in their working lives, enabling them to balance their work and home lives more successfully.

But 63% of women said that the main drawback of working as an interim working away from home and leaving their families and 17% disliked staying in hotels on their own.

Jason Atkinson, executive director of interim management firm Russam GMS, says: “In reality, interim assignments are often working away from home and involve very long hours.

“Although we haven’t seen a surge of women joining our database, which is currently at around 15%, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be 50-50.”

Rachel Youngman, chair of Interimwomen, says: “The overwhelming majority of women seem to relish the challenging and stimulating nature of interim work and prize this more highly than the financial rewards.

“They enjoy going into different industries and learning new skills and for many, interim working is giving them a more flexible way of working and a better work-life balance.”