From April 2015, working parents will be able to share leave after the birth of a child. Mariella Frostrup debates whether this will change attitudes towards stay-at-home dads and mums who choose to go back to work.

Announcing the new policy, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has stated that 'women deserve the right to pursue their goals and not feel they have to choose between having a successful career or having a baby.'

Mariella examines whether the idea of shared parental leave is the best way to give working mothers a more fulfilling career, and whether fathers will be prepared to spend more time at home with a new baby.

Few parenting dilemmas spark more debate than how to balance work and play. Mariella and her guests discuss the tricky juggling act and financial costs of childcare and examine current research into the impact of working parents on children.

Joining Mariella to debate the issues are Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families, Laura Perrins, from Mothers At Home Matter, Sally Goddard Blythe, director of the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology, Gideon Burrows, author of Men Can Do It, Dr Denise Hawkes, from the Institute of Education and Anji Hunter from Edelman, where she works to get equal numbers of women and men in British boardrooms.

Producer: Sarah Bowen. Show less