The study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission of Britain found that the "softly-softly" approach towards breaking down the glass ceiling is not working, with women's representation falling in almost half the industries surveyed.

The annual Sex and Power report, which examines the positions of women in business, politics and the public sector, found that women are losing the battle for gender equality in workplaces after years of progress.

"The low representation of women is down to straight forward discrimination in some cases, but there are some fundamental ways in which our workplace culture still holds women back," Nicola Brewer, chief executive of the commission, was quoted as saying by The Independent newspaper said on Thursday.

She said the report exposed the "clear trend" that gender equality in Britain's workplaces across the board had either hit the buffers or was in reverse.

An earlier study by Professor Jacqueline Scott of the Cambridge University, which was based on data from the international social survey programme and other polls of public opinion in Britain, the US and West Germany since the 1980s, indicated that the shine of the "super-mum" is wearing off as women working full-time do so at the cost of their family.

It said when it comes to the clash between work and family life, "doubts about whether a woman should be doing both are starting to creep in". The Equality Commission's assessment found that the proportion of women holding key positions in British life had fallen in 12 out of the 25 categories surveyed in 2006.

In politics, fewer British women now hold positions of power in Parliament and the government. It said Britain -- with just 19.3 per cent women in the House of Commons, was placed at 70th place in the world's equality league, behind such countries as Iraq, Afghanistan and China.