It had become the norm for mothers in post-war Britain to interrupt employment after child-bearing. The trend to increased female labour-force participation involves a shortening of this break, but continuous careers are becoming more common. Many of the growing disparities. The last two decades qualifications are now maintaining full-time employment in high-level occupations when they become mothers. They take advantage of maternity leave and pay for child care. They diverge from the majority of women taking part-time jobs after periods in the home. This leads to a polarization in women's employment histories and means an uneven spread of women's gains from equal opportunities legislation. Copyright 1996 by Oxford University Press.
