The cult of 'superwomen' deters women in business, Tory peer and Downing Street adviser warns

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The cult of superwomen "having it all" is actually deterring female entrepreneurs from starting their own businesses, a Government adviser has said.

Baroness Bertin, a member of Theresa May's new task force to encourage women in their careers, said the time has come to "be honest" about "how challenging" juggling children and jobs can be.

She told peers: "All the talk of superwomen having it all is not very helpful to most women in this country.”

The Conservative peer, who as Gabby Bertin was a key aide to David Cameron during his time in Opposition and as Prime Minister, is one of a group of senior women who have been appointed to ensure all policy developed by the Government considers the impact on women and focuses on increasing their role in politics, business and society as a whole.

In a recent speech, Lady Bertin hit out at the philosophy of "lean in", which urges women to be more proactive at seizing career opportunities and is championed by Sheryl Sandberg, the Facebook executive. 

Lady Bertin said: “We should be honest about how challenging this can be, if and when children come along. 

“All the talk of superwomen having it all is not very helpful to most women in this country.

"'Leaning in' is all very well if you are a highly-paid executive with wraparound childcare, but less so if you are a single parent or if both of you work very long hours and there is a hard stop for nursery pick-up.

“It also should not be a crime against your career to want to see your children awake during the week.”

The peer went on to say stereotypes forced on toddlers from programmes such as Peppa Pig are holding women back.

Citing her personal experiences, Lady Bertin described how her four-year old daughter said she wanted to be a nurse because she thought "only boys can be doctors”. The peer claimed her daughter picked this perception up from watching Peppa Pig, the popular children's cartoon.

"Deeply ingrained gender stereotyping starts early on," she said. "It can still subconsciously drive women and men down different paths."

Her comments were not limited to the issues women face and addressed the challenges for working fathers. Lady Bertin called for the "stamping out of a macho culture that sniggers behind its hand at shared parental leave or dads playing a bigger role”.

The Government's new task force is chaired by Nikki Da Costa, the head of legislative affairs at No10 and made up of a committee of peers, MPs and policy experts. 

The group aims to ensure all policy developed by the Government considers the impact on women and focuses on increasing their role in politics, business and society as a whole.

It follows the launch of a Telegraph campaign to champion female entrepreneurs and tackle the disparities in start-up funding between men and women.

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