Married women really began their fight to stay on working, and then later on to try for equal pay, after the war. While it was often a necessity, because many women were left with no-one to provide due to the large numbers of casualties in the war effort, the pressure to get women back in the home was intense because, of course, it rocked the world as men knew it. And, of course, the women said, "We were okay during the war effort. Women after the war, quite simply, did not want to go home.

From cradle to college, women nowadays are taught about the importance of preserving their individual identity and the pitfalls of staying home with the kids, even if that means juggling the home, a high pressure job, childcare and the minutae of daily domestic life.

Can We Really Have It All?

But nor is there any sense, any more, that women can 'have it all' - the career, the husband, the kids, the lifestyle.

For the past 25 years women have been torn between family and career and the roles that executive women have to play in the work environment can be major sources of stress for them; particularly lower pay, limited opportunities, career blockages and prejudicial attitudes towards working women. The glass ceiling, that invisible "ouch" women bump their heads against, as they tried to break through the old boy networks can be a major factor in making many women disillusioned with the corporate world.

Working women experience the strains of competing work and family demands much more than men - as the traditional home-makers we somehow feel that we should be perfect in every respect, contributing to the earning power of the family, creating an ever more beautiful home, becoming a gourmet cook a la Nigella Lawson, being a innovative and enthusiastic lover, raising happy, healthy kids who, at the very least, don't eat junk food, or at the worst, become total delinquents.

While, to date, there is a scarcity of research on personality matters and stress outcome in women at work and, while it is undeniable that women have stronger personal, social and society pressure to adhere to the roles focusing on family and household tasks, there is evidence that men are beginning to feel the strain too.

Look at the gender split: 49% of men versus 39% of women said they were looking for a new job because of work/life conflicts.

A great read for those becoming fed up with the corporate life is "Swimming With Pirahnas Makes You Hungry" by Colin Turner (may be out of print but still available on Amazon.

One Solution: The Career Break

One option is that of a new phenomenon, tipped to be the biggest trend in the modern woman's life for 2006 - the career break. A career break is an extended period of unpaid leave from work, usually between one and five years. The idea of a career break is so accepted now it's unlikely to damage your career, particularly if you can show that you will be using your career break to enhance your skills and knowledge at no cost to your employer!

There are quite a few things to consider when you're planning a career break. Not least of which is how you are going to manage financially.

Some people use savings, some take other work; often consultancy which offers more freedom and higher income for less hours, while yet others take some of the equity out of their property (in effect, earned income that is still locked up in your home), set some of it aside to pay the extra on the mortgage payment, and then live on the released cash for the duration of their break.

Put the business case to your employer - show them what they'll get out of your career break in terms of your increased skills and renewed enthusiasm. Because it's undeniably true that, from studies of people who have returned to work after a career break, you will come back a totally refreshed and revitalised person.

It is also well recognized that a career break may be of particular benefit to a woman returning from maternity leave. If women opt to take breaks or stop the clock when having children, they should state their intentions ahead of time, out of consideration to their employers. For some companies the maximum period for any career break (including following maternity leave) is two years but you must check with your company, as you may find that, for your application to be considered you must return to work for a minimum of three months before you start their career break. This rather defeats the object.

When considering going back to work after a career break, some research has shown that some recruiters encourage your to gloss over your career break in your CV, while others would say that your greatest asset will be a CV that emphasises the skills you've acquired, both from your previous work and during your career break. Returning to work when the kids are older is relatively easy if you're on a pre-arranged career break.

Here are my Top 10 Career Success Books to enjoy on your career break:

1. "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" Steven Covey

2. "The E-Myth Manager" Michael Gerber

3. "The Portable Coach : 28 Sure Fire Strategies For Business And Personal Success" by Thomas J. Leonard

4. "The One Minute Manager" Ph.D. Kenneth Blanchard, M.D. Spencer Johnson

5. "Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life" Spencer Johnson, Kenneth H. Blanchard

6. "Synchronicity: The Inner Path Of Leadership" Joseph Jaworski

7. "Swimming With Pirahnas Makes You Hungry" Colin Turner

8. "Take Yourself To The Top" Laura Berman Fortgang

9. "Orbiting the Giant Hairball : A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace" Gordon MacKenzie

10. "How To Get Everything Done (And Still Have Time To Play)" Mark Forster

Starting A Business At Home

If you really hate your job or you are considering a career break, you might want to think about starting a "work at home" business.

Even if you are not unhappy in your current job, there are many hidden benefits of starting a part time business at home.

You will generate extra cash which can be used for extra luxuries such as holidays or home improvements, or even better, to invest in "income producing" assets such as buy-to-let property or investing in the stockmarket.

In addition, there are many tax benefits, allowing you to legally offset some of your usual day to day expenses against your new business.

Consider the case of the employee who earns $10,000 a month, but has to pay tax of say $4,000 on that income. Out of the remaining $6,000 they have to pay for their petrol, mortgage interest, insurances, utilities, magazines, mobile phone, home stationery and many other things. If they go to educational events such as conferences and seminars, this (plus the travel and accomodation) comes out of the post-tax income too.

However, the person with a job and a "home business" can offset a proportion of their household expenses against their business, and this often means, in the early days, that they are entitled to a rebate of the tax deducted from their "proper job".

Many people go on to be so successful with their home business that they never go back to the corporate life afterwards, and you might find that your only regret will be that someone didn't show you how to do this sooner.

However, many people from the corporate world, and women in particular, feel very uncomfortable with two of the core skills needed to become a successful business person. These are marketing and selling. One of the hardest facts of life is that if your new business doesn't attract enough customers, it will fail pretty rapidly.

To help you overcome any fears you have in this department, you can find a free article I've written on "Ethical Marketing" on the Ezine Articles website.

So What Should I Do?

There are now many online magazines dedicated to finding REAL stories and hard-hitting information that helps real people find legitimate "work at home" business opportunities.

When considering potential businesses it's important not to paint yourself into a corner again, as many people start a home business that rapidly turns into a job.

And the worst thing is that you wake up in the morning one day and find that staring back at you is the boss you swapped for the other, and this one is a stressed out lunatic, who doesn't know what they are doing!

Recommended - and it should be required - reading for any aspiring entrepreneurs is "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael E Gerber. Don't even think about starting a business until you have read this great book. Life changing stuff. Also excellent is "Get Clients Now!" by CJ Hayden.

The Internet has created a huge opportunities for home business opportunities as well.

There is a whole module on making money online in my book "The Money Gym: The Ultimate Wealth Workout" and I also recommend "Striking It Rich.com" by Jaclyn Easton.

If you have a hobby or interest, or something that you are really good at, or perhaps something that you are particularly knowledgeable about, you can often create a passive income from selling information products such as ebooks or eprogrammes. These often grow into coaching programmes, often delivered by phone, not to mention the possibilities for future workshops, seminars and even conferences.

The most amazing thing is that you can make money online without even having a product or service of your own. Startup costs can be as little as $100 or