Women who work in IT support could find they have greater flexibility over their working hours and location, it is suggested.

Sectors, such as IT services and computer support, are often better-placed to offer home working or flexible hours, states Rob Lovell, chief executive officer and co-founder of ThinkGrid.

He says that this can allow women to continue their careers and retain the ability to integrate with business, while on a period of absence from the office.

In January this year, Baroness Morris of Bolton introduced the equal pay and flexible working bill as an amendment to the Equal Pay Act 1970.

The change would extend the right to request flexible working to all parents with children under the age of 18 - currently it is available to those with youngsters under six and carers.

If implemented, the new rules could mean more women in IT support working from home and at times which suit them and their families.

In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were guaranteed response times and allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues.