Allowing fathers to share maternity leave would be a “major” step forward in boosting the number of women in board level positions, according to Maggie Berry, managing director of Women in Technology.

Berry’s comments follow Daily Mail reports that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is planning to allow parents to split almost all of their 12 months’ maternity leave.

“The current parental leave provisions are one of the most unequal in Europe and are a key contributing factor to the very low number of women that we see in boardrooms today,” says Berry. “The majority of women that do reach the top either do not have families or have partners who stay at home, but in 2011 we shouldn’t have to choose between children and a career.”

Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), adds: “The CIPD strongly welcomes the government’s commitment to extend the right to flexible working to all employees. The opportunity to work flexibly increases employee engagement as well as helping employees achieve a better work life balance. But flexibility cannot be total.

“Employers need to be able to plan ahead with some confidence that they know when individual employees will be available. So the proposal to allow fathers and mothers to take parental leave in blocks, for example, rather than all at once, may be a step too far and needs to be looked at carefully.”