44% of men think women are equal for the most senior jobs, compared with only 23% of women

44% of men across the UK think women in top jobs are not unusual and that men and women are equal, contrasting with almost half that - 23% - of female respondents who were asked the same question in a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP examining views on women in business.

Despite the strong belief of equality progress amongst male respondents to the survey, almost a fifth believe women will have had to work harder and longer than men to get to the top in business. 39% of females - nearly twice the level of male responses - believe women have had to work harder and longer to get to the top. The survey was conducted amongst almost 2000 people nationwide.

Sarah Churchman, director of diversity, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP commented: “It’s no surprise that men think that equality has progressed more than women. Some men don’t realise what it’s like to face a macho male dominated culture in a working environment. The fight to the top gets tougher all the time the more squeeze companies put on learning, promotions, and pay rises. Job insecurity could reverse the progress we’ve made in equality because it breeds presenteeism, people protecting their own work, and a tougher fight to the top for all.”

Only 11% of men thought women were good leaders and an inspiration, nearly half of what women believed to be the case (20%). 12% of all respondents said women had a reputation for being aggressive and controlling, rising to 14% amongst London respondents.

Sarah Churchman, director of diversity, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP commented: “The City has worked hard to shake off its alpha – male image and environment, but the underlying impression is still that women have to battle harder to get to the top. It’s in our nature to feel we have to prove to ourselves, and others we can do the job. But in the process, employers need to ensure it’s not burning out the best of our City women, because it’s the economy as a whole that suffers when we reduce the pipeline of future leaders.”

The national survey examined views on women in the most senior jobs in business, overall:

• 33% said they were nothing unusual – men and women were equal (regional highest in north east, Yorkshire and east Anglia - 36%)

• 29% said women had to work hard then men to get to the top, and for a longer period of time too (regional highest in the south west - 35%)

• 15% said they were an inspiration to others, and good leaders too (regional highest in Scotland - 19%)

• 12% said they had a reputation for being aggressive and controlling (regional highest in London - 14%)

• 3% said they were there to make up the numbers, and not as well qualified as men

Respondents from the south west, Northern Ireland and London felt the strongest that women had to work harder and longer than men, with respondents in Scotland, East Anglia and Northern Ireland praising women the most for being an inspiration. In London, 30% of respondents believe women have to work longer and harder than their male counterparts to get to the top jobs, despite the fact that 29% believe men and women in senior jobs to be equal.

20% of male respondents, and 15% of female respondents (17% overall) believed men and women should be able to share their maternity/ paternity leave with their partner, so as to more equally share the load of childcare and careers. For a new generation joining the workforce, under 20 years of age, that statistic rose to 28%.

16% of men, compared with only 9% of female respondents, said that women who went back to work without taking their maximum maternity leave entitled were hard working, and