By Margaret Steen

The lack of significant differences between those who said they have stayed with their company because of flexibility and the overall responses to the survey also suggests that flexibility is becoming more universally sought-after.

To be sure, having an employer who is flexible about work hours and other work arrangements -- such as telecommuting and family-care leave -- is important to working mothers.

"You have to be in charge of your own life, and the only way you can be is through flexible hours," says Joanne Ward, a senior systems analyst in the office of information technology for the city of Oakland, Calif. "You can't just have kids on some sort of fictitious schedule."

Elizabeth Falk, a career coach and principal of Odyssey Consulting, in Arlington, Mass., says her clients who work in technology are looking for -- and often find -- different types of flexibility.

"The thing I hear most consistently from women in high-tech companies is [that they want] flexibility in terms of both work hours and location," Falk says. However, Falk warns that using this benefit might affect career advancement in some cases.

Jan Jackman, vice president of strategy for IBM's ISP global industry unit, in White Plains, N.Y., concurs that for people who want to get ahead, a flexible schedule isn't always the best option. However, Jackman also says she has taken advantage of and appreciated other kinds of flexibility -- for example, being able to work from home, which has helped her and her husband juggle their careers.

"It was up to me if I wanted to work from home or to commute when I needed to move," Jackman says. "Having IBM be very accommodating to those situations builds up a lot of loyalty."