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Mothers are under financial pressure to go back to work afterhaving children according to research by Norwich Union.

64% of women said they resumed working because their familyneeded the money, suggesting the idea of women working for“pin money” is a thing of the past.

The research also goes against the “super mum” imageof those who want both a successful career and family life withonly 14% going back to work to continue with their career. Thefindings suggest that the majority of mothers would like to stay athome with their children if they could afford to do so but this issimply not possible.

Other findings from the research found that 9% went back to workbecause of boredom. It revealed that mothers in the North are themost bored at home with 16% returning to work because of boredomcompared to a mere 3% in the South.

Surprisingly, only 1% of mothers were desperate to return towork because they missed their colleagues.

Norwich Union spokeswoman Louise Goffee said: “In timeswhen we think that women can have it all, it is surprising how manydo not want to continue with their career. The research alsohighlights how many families rely on two salaries to pay for theirmortgages, children and lifestyle compared to even ten years agowhen fathers were regarded as the breadwinners of thefamily.”

Notes to editors

• Fieldwork for research undertaken by Norwich Union took placeduring July 2001
• CGU plc and Norwich Union plc merged on 30 May 2000 to createCGNU plc, the UK’s largest insurance group and one of thetop-five insurers in Europe with substantial positions in othermarkets around the world, making it the world’s sixthlargest insurer based on gross worldwide premiums.
• CGNU’s principal business activities are long-termsavings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwidepremium income and retail investment sales from ongoing businessof over £27 billion and assets under management of more than £200billion (as at 30 June 2001)
• From October 2000, the combined life and pensions, generalinsurance and retail fund management businesses in the UK operateunder the Norwich Union brand, while the institutional investmentbusiness operates under the Morley Fund Management brand.
• Norwich Union’s news releases are available on thissite
• A selection of images are a available form the CGNU Newscastsite at www.newscast.co.uk
• An ISDN facility is available for studio quality interviews.Call the press office on 08703 666873

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Press office contacts:
Out of hours
James Evans 08703 66 68 78 07790 487105
Louise Goffee 08703 66 68 70 07747 764342