Fifty years after the Queen led the way, working mums still get a raw deal, the government's equality watchdog says today.

Despite great strides for women over the last 50 years, there is still a long way to go before full equality is achieved, according to the Equal Opportunities Commission.

And Queen Elizabeth's success as working mother and monarch is the exception rather than the rule as women continue the struggle for equality in the home and in the workplace.

"As a working mum in the 1950s Queen Elizabeth II was relatively unusual, but at least she had plenty of help at home," argues the EOC.

In 2002 it's the norm for both parents to be breadwinners, but they need more flexibility at work to help them balance their job and their family, says the watchdog.

A review of statistics covering the last 50 years show how Britons' lives have changed during the Queen's reign.

Progress...

In 1951 women comprised 29.5 per cent of the workforce, but by 2001 this figure had risen to 44.6 per cent.

The last 50 years have also seen a huge increase in the number of women in the professions, from eight per cent of higher professionals in 1951 to 42 per cent in 2001.

There has also been a rise in the number of female managers, up from 15 per cent of managers in 1951 to 30 per cent of managers and senior officials in 2001.

...but still no equality

While more women have joined the labour market they have remained concentrated in certain kinds of work, notes the EOC

Women accounted for 60 per cent of clerical employees in 1951, and in 2001 the figures showed that 79 per cent of employees in administrative and secretarial occupations were women.

Women accounted for 52 per cent of sales employees in 1951, while last year 70 per cent of employees in sales and customer services were women.

And although the 47 per cent gap between women's average weekly pay in full-time manual work in 1952 (under £5) and men's (under £9) has narrowed, a significant gap still exists.

Women full-time manual workers in 2001 earned on average £240 a week, compared to a male average weekly wage of £360 - a gap of 33 per cent.

While there has been an increase in the number of women MPs from 17 in 1951 to 118 in 2001, parliament still falls a long way short of being truly representative.

Equality chief, Julie Mellor, believes the figures provide "a fascinating snapshot of how our lives have changed since the Queen's accession".

"Although women have made great strides towards equality in education and in the workplace, there are still real inequalities," she said.

"The structure of working life hasn't kept up with changes in women's and men's roles - the 1950s model which assumes every employee has a wife at home looking after the family and the house is still all too common.

"This prevents many women from progressing at work and denies many men the opportunity to be involved with caring for their children.

"We won't see equality in the home without equality at work. If we achieve that goal by the time of the next Jubilee celebration we will all have something to celebrate!"