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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/29/robbing-paula-pay-peter-principles
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| Robbing Paula to pay Peter, and other disputed principles | Robbing Paula to pay Peter, and other disputed principles |
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| The gender pay gap remains a major issue which needs to be looked at over time (Editorial, 25 October). Analysis by Jenny Neuburger of longitudinal studies tracking two generations who entered the labour market 12 years apart (in the mid 1970s and the late 80s) shows the following. When each generation was about 25, the gender pay gap for the younger generation was about half what it had been for the older one – just over 10% against 20%. Good news. Less good news is that in both cases the gap then widened as people advanced in their careers. Still less good is the fact that it looks as if the gap widens faster for the younger generation. So the progress in closing the gap at the beginning of each generation's careers may turn out to have all but disappeared by the time they reach their 50s. | The gender pay gap remains a major issue which needs to be looked at over time (Editorial, 25 October). Analysis by Jenny Neuburger of longitudinal studies tracking two generations who entered the labour market 12 years apart (in the mid 1970s and the late 80s) shows the following. When each generation was about 25, the gender pay gap for the younger generation was about half what it had been for the older one – just over 10% against 20%. Good news. Less good news is that in both cases the gap then widened as people advanced in their careers. Still less good is the fact that it looks as if the gap widens faster for the younger generation. So the progress in closing the gap at the beginning of each generation's careers may turn out to have all but disappeared by the time they reach their 50s. |
| This is all the more significant because younger women now have better qualifications than men, at all levels. So the pay gap should be shrinking far faster. Older readers may recall the Peter principle: people rise to their level of incompetence. This was coined in the 60s, when only men were thought to have careers. The mirror image is the Paula principle: the powerful tendency for women to stay at levels below their competence – see www.paulaprinciple.com. Tom Schuller London | This is all the more significant because younger women now have better qualifications than men, at all levels. So the pay gap should be shrinking far faster. Older readers may recall the Peter principle: people rise to their level of incompetence. This was coined in the 60s, when only men were thought to have careers. The mirror image is the Paula principle: the powerful tendency for women to stay at levels below their competence – see www.paulaprinciple.com. Tom Schuller London |
| • Surely it is time to embrace EU justice commissioner Viviane Reding's proposals to reserve 40% of corporate board seats for women (EU-wide quotas for women in boardrooms rejected, 24 October). If we continue as normal it could take decades for women to achieve anything like gender equality in the boardroom. It is not true that women would be promoted on the basis of their gender. Numerous women of exceptional talent and experience simply lack the confidence or platform to put themselves forward. | • Surely it is time to embrace EU justice commissioner Viviane Reding's proposals to reserve 40% of corporate board seats for women (EU-wide quotas for women in boardrooms rejected, 24 October). If we continue as normal it could take decades for women to achieve anything like gender equality in the boardroom. It is not true that women would be promoted on the basis of their gender. Numerous women of exceptional talent and experience simply lack the confidence or platform to put themselves forward. |
| However, the lack of women in boardrooms won't be solved by quotas alone, nor by practical improvements such as childcare and flexible ways of working – although these would help. Without an understanding of what women experience when they sit in boardroom meetings, women will not move forward. The macho culture and language of the all-male boardroom needs to be challenged and transformed before women can readily find a home there. I believe the presence of women would humanise boardrooms for the benefit of all. Embracing Viviane Reding's proposal for quotas would be just the start. Dr Judith Baxter Reader in applied linguistics, Aston University | However, the lack of women in boardrooms won't be solved by quotas alone, nor by practical improvements such as childcare and flexible ways of working – although these would help. Without an understanding of what women experience when they sit in boardroom meetings, women will not move forward. The macho culture and language of the all-male boardroom needs to be challenged and transformed before women can readily find a home there. I believe the presence of women would humanise boardrooms for the benefit of all. Embracing Viviane Reding's proposal for quotas would be just the start. Dr Judith Baxter Reader in applied linguistics, Aston University |
| • It was indeed a moving experience to see the "modern" suffragettes campaigning for women's rights in Parliament Square, just as their foremothers did over 100 years ago (New century, old problems as suffragettes gather again, 25 October). Contrary to popular perception, the "original" suffragette movement never focused on the single issue of the vote but campaigned for equal rights for women in all spheres of life, including the family, the workplace and public life. The "original" suffragettes would indeed, as Helen Pankhurst, Emmeline's great-granddaughter, said, have supported the protest against the erosion of women's rights under this coalition government. Long may the suffragette spirit remain. June Purvis School of social, historical and literary studies, University of Portsmouth | • It was indeed a moving experience to see the "modern" suffragettes campaigning for women's rights in Parliament Square, just as their foremothers did over 100 years ago (New century, old problems as suffragettes gather again, 25 October). Contrary to popular perception, the "original" suffragette movement never focused on the single issue of the vote but campaigned for equal rights for women in all spheres of life, including the family, the workplace and public life. The "original" suffragettes would indeed, as Helen Pankhurst, Emmeline's great-granddaughter, said, have supported the protest against the erosion of women's rights under this coalition government. Long may the suffragette spirit remain. June Purvis School of social, historical and literary studies, University of Portsmouth |
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