By Mark Davies BBC News Online political reporter

Ms Hewitt says reform of Commons hours would make Parliament more attractive to prospective female - and male - MPs with young children.

Sensible hours would.... improve access for outside groups and the media to Parliament's work and improve the quality of decision making

Read BBC News Online's full interview with Patricia Hewitt

Parliament should "reflect modern Britain where both men and women are breadwinners and active parents", she adds.

Proposals to scrap the 10 p.m. vote held three times a week in Parliament are expected from Commons leader Robin Cook next month.

The plans are said to face opposition from some within the government.

But Ms Hewitt said: "I personally favour proposals for more rational sitting hours for Parliament, so that key decisions are not being taken at 10 o'clock at night.

"Sensible hours would... also improve access for outside groups and the media to Parliament's work and improve the quality of decision making."

Vital

She says it is "vital to democracy" to increase the number of women MPs and important to create a political climate that attracts women.

Hewitt is one of Labour's most high-flying women

"Right now too many women look at Parliament and see a male-dominated, rather archaic environment, which has no connection to their daily lives," she says.

Ms Hewitt is one of Labour's most high-flying women, arriving in the Cabinet last year after a rapid rise up the ministerial ranks.

She was a key aide of former party leader Neil Kinnock before her election to the Commons in 1997.

Careful

Tony Blair has given her the dual role of the trade and industry portfolio alongside that of minister for women.

I've rarely made enough time for my husband and I still wish that I'd succeeded in working part-time when our children were little

Patricia Hewitt

In the interview with BBC News Online, Ms Hewitt also admits that there is some way to go before pay levels for women reach parity with their male counterparts.

But she defends the government's approach of asking companies to audit pay systems rather than forcing them to do so.

She says it is important for employers to conduct pay reviews "carefully and sensitively".

"Equal pay is already a statutory requirement and has been since 1975 but clearly there is still some way to go before we have a level playing field," she adds.

And she says the government is "100% committed to getting our own house in order too and working towards closing the pay gap that exists within government departments".

Luck

She admits that women are still more often found in low-status, low paid jobs, but says the government is taking steps to redress the balance.

Asked about her own career, she says her success is thanks to "luck, persistence, hard work and always knowing that I wanted to make a difference through my work as well as my politics".

But she concedes that she made sacrifices in terms of balancing work and family life.

The Leicester West MP has two children after marrying husband William in 1981.

"I've rarely made enough time for my husband and I still wish that I'd succeeded in working part-time when our children were little," she says.