Almost three quarters of the female UK population today work - the third highest women's employment rate in Europe and the highest ever in Britain.

The government survey ‘Trends in Female Employment’ shows that 65% of women with dependent children are employed and that only 48.6% of lone mothers work. However, over the past three years employment growth for women with dependent children has been higher among lone mothers than married mothers.

Commenting on the National Statistics report, employment and women's minister Tessa Jowell said that many were able to get the work-family balance right. "It is vital that we recognise this achievement and continue building on this success - making sure there is support for women returning to work after having a family and helping people balance their work and family life. That is why we are encouraging employers to introduce flexible working policies such as job sharing and term-time working as well as traditional part-time working hours in a way that has not always happened in the past."

The report also showed the number of women in permanent jobs had risen by over half a million over the past three years and although the majority of part-time workers were women, over 90% of women with dependent children did not want full-time work.

"There is still much to do – 88% of women are concentrated in service industries and in non-manual occupations whereas 9 out of 10 workers in the manufacturing sector are men," concluded Jowell.

Jessica Jarlvi