Negative perceptions of women who combine paid work with parenthood have been demolished by a Harvard University study. The daughters of working mothers enjoy better careers, higher pay and more equal relationships than those raised by stay-at-home mothers, it found.Using data from 24 countries, the study says the sons and daughters of working mothers appear to thrive, with daughters benefiting most from the positive role model of a mother with a career.Harvard Business School's Professor Kathleen McGinn, lead author of the report on the study, said: "Whether moms or dads stay at home or are employed, part-time or full-time, children benefit from exposure to role models that offer a wide set of alternatives for leading a rich and rewarding life."The researchers found that, on average, the daughters of working mothers were paid around 4% more than their peers and were much more likely to be managers.Rebecca Allen, a working mother of two children and herself the daughter of a mother who worked, said the research suggested that today's women had benefited from their mothers' struggles against discrimination and social attitudes."In some ways [the study's findings are] a comfort to women who do go out to work - and a signal to women who don't that they have to think hard about how the role they have within the household is going to affect their children's perceptions of what it means to be a woman and a mother," she said.Belinda Phipps, chairman of the Fawcett Society for women's equality, said: "We have known for a long time that there are lots of benefits to children having a working mother but it is great to see more confirmatory research." ..