Firms warned of rising trend of women quitting corporate life in their 40s

A leading development coach is warning of a growing trend of women quitting corporate life in their 40s.

A report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers recently revealed that 75% of women believe getting to the top of their career is important and 85% are confident of getting there.

However, author and mentor Shane Cradock says there is growing evidence that, once they do, many are realising it was not worth the battle.

Mr Cradock said: "The thing that's coming up the most for a lot of these successful, smart, ambitious women is the recognition, the realisation that they have put their life second in relation to their career.

"And what's happening now is a lot of them are asking, what is now a very good question, which is 'how do I get my life to become front and centre?'

"Because when we do that, certainly all the research and my own experience would find that when we do that, generally you will have someone who will perform at a higher level."

Mr Cradock also said that the growing trend of women jumping ship in their 40s could pose problems for companies unless they identify what is happening.

He said: "A lot of companies are going to have to contend with an element of dissatisfaction in a significant and core part of their workforce.

"On the positive side for the women themselves, the kind of question that they would be asking, certainly clients are coming to me asking questions, I think are good questions because they are asking questions that are going to impact on purpose for themselves and then also on impact.

"That's what's coming up in terms of positive impact, in terms of helping other people."