MAIL ONLINE: Do babies and business mix? Three dynamic duos reveal how they balance family duties with building a company

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The four biggest flashpoints 

Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at the University of Manchester, identifies common mum/non-mum meltdowns: 

Being dumped upon Single, child-free women are expected to pick up the slack when a colleague with children leaves early to do the pick-up/attend sports day/deal with a family emergency. It can lead to resentment from the child-free person, particularly if their life outside work is not acknowledged. 

Flexi-time Until 2014, only those with children under 16 (or a disabled child under 18) or carers were allowed to request to work flexible hours. Now that right has been extended to all workers. Thus many workplace conflicts will be resolved when everyone realises we have the technology to work more flexibly and remotely. 

The ‘overtime culture’ There’s a tendency to follow the lead of the boss when it comes to working overtime, but it’s often impossible for mums to stay after hours. They could point out that, if needed, they can work from home when the children are in bed. 

Being overlooked Working mums have real concerns about being passed over for promotion or no longer getting interesting projects. They feel particularly sidelined immediately after returning from maternity leave. Many big companies now run return-to-work schemes to bring the mum back up to speed. 

How to negotiate them 

Every one of these issues has the same resolution: speak up. Women usually have enough emotional intelligence to understand their colleagues and empathise with their situation. Pick a good time to broach the subject (not during a time of stress), then calmly explain your position. If you value each other enough, you will find a way around it.