The Paula Principle

Month: January 2015

Gaps

A quick post following a good meeting yesterday organised by UCU, on widening access to higher education, in the august surrounding's of the Dean's Yard Westminster.  (My last post came from the even more distinguished crypt of St Paul's - where will I find myself next?). Two key issues struck me.  One was 'trends in gaps'.    Helen Thornley of UCAS gave details of the latest figures on applications and entries to universities.    The gap between those from the most and least advantaged backgrounds is diminishing - though not very fast, and not o the 'high tariff' (i.e. elite) universities.  At the same time, the gap between female and…
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The tangibility of part-time work

"Between 1990 and 2011, the value of intangible assets in the UK grew from £50.2 billion to £137.5 billion, while at the same time the value of tangible, physical assets has increased much more slowly from £72.1 billion to £89.8 billion. In 2015, intangible investment will be 50% higher than investment in tangibles."   CIPD Human Capital Reporting: Investing for Sustainable Growth 2014, quoting a NESTA report by Goodrich et al Technology and the Arts. I'm always a bit suspicious of these kinds of calculation, but the overall message is pretty clear: we should be looking at how the money we spend (publicly and privately) on things like education and training (prime examples of intangibles) is effectively put to use, and not…
Read More

Higher education: UCAS shows more push behind the PP

What gives the Paula Principle its current salience is the difference levels of achievement between women and men in education of all kinds.   I've just been looking at the latest UCAS report on applications and entry to higher education.  It confirms the seemingly inexorable growth in the gap between female and male educational paths. First, the overall picture: - For 18 year olds in 2014 the entry rate increased (3.2 per cent proportionally for men, 3.7 per cent for women) to the highest recorded levels for both men (25.8 per cent) and women (34.1 per cent). As with application rates, 18 year old women were around a third (32…
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Crossing cultures: flexibility and drug habits

I've argued several times in this blog for more attention to part-time work as the key to women being able to work to their level of competence (and men too…).  A report on Women and Flexible Working from the ippr (published,a tad puzzlingly, on Boxing Day) compares practices across 7 EU countries. The basic premiss is clear:  better practice on enabling women to work flexibly will be good for the economy, as well as for them personally.  Sweden, Netherlands and Germany are the leaders on both female employment levels and flexible working. The first two show particularly strong levels of employee choice over working time, with around 40% of women…
Read More

Gaps

A quick post following a good meeting yesterday organised by UCU, on widening access to higher education, in the august surrounding's of the Dean's Yard Westminster.  (My last post came from the even more distinguished crypt of St Paul's - where will I find myself next?). Two key issues struck me.  One was 'trends in gaps'.    Helen Thornley of UCAS gave details of the latest figures on applications and entries to universities.    The gap between those from the most and least advantaged backgrounds is diminishing - though not very fast, and not o the 'high tariff' (i.e. elite) universities.  At the same time, the gap between female and…
Read More

The tangibility of part-time work

"Between 1990 and 2011, the value of intangible assets in the UK grew from £50.2 billion to £137.5 billion, while at the same time the value of tangible, physical assets has increased much more slowly from £72.1 billion to £89.8 billion. In 2015, intangible investment will be 50% higher than investment in tangibles."   CIPD Human Capital Reporting: Investing for Sustainable Growth 2014, quoting a NESTA report by Goodrich et al Technology and the Arts. I'm always a bit suspicious of these kinds of calculation, but the overall message is pretty clear: we should be looking at how the money we spend (publicly and privately) on things like education and training (prime examples of intangibles) is effectively put to use, and not…
Read More

Higher education: UCAS shows more push behind the PP

What gives the Paula Principle its current salience is the difference levels of achievement between women and men in education of all kinds.   I've just been looking at the latest UCAS report on applications and entry to higher education.  It confirms the seemingly inexorable growth in the gap between female and male educational paths. First, the overall picture: - For 18 year olds in 2014 the entry rate increased (3.2 per cent proportionally for men, 3.7 per cent for women) to the highest recorded levels for both men (25.8 per cent) and women (34.1 per cent). As with application rates, 18 year old women were around a third (32…
Read More

Crossing cultures: flexibility and drug habits

I've argued several times in this blog for more attention to part-time work as the key to women being able to work to their level of competence (and men too…).  A report on Women and Flexible Working from the ippr (published,a tad puzzlingly, on Boxing Day) compares practices across 7 EU countries. The basic premiss is clear:  better practice on enabling women to work flexibly will be good for the economy, as well as for them personally.  Sweden, Netherlands and Germany are the leaders on both female employment levels and flexible working. The first two show particularly strong levels of employee choice over working time, with around 40% of women…
Read More

Gaps

A quick post following a good meeting yesterday organised by UCU, on widening access to higher education, in the august surrounding's of the Dean's Yard Westminster.  (My last post came from the even more distinguished crypt of St Paul's - where will I find myself next?). Two key issues struck me.  One was 'trends in gaps'.    Helen Thornley of UCAS gave details of the latest figures on applications and entries to universities.    The gap between those from the most and least advantaged backgrounds is diminishing - though not very fast, and not o the 'high tariff' (i.e. elite) universities.  At the same time, the gap between female and…
Read More

The tangibility of part-time work

"Between 1990 and 2011, the value of intangible assets in the UK grew from £50.2 billion to £137.5 billion, while at the same time the value of tangible, physical assets has increased much more slowly from £72.1 billion to £89.8 billion. In 2015, intangible investment will be 50% higher than investment in tangibles."   CIPD Human Capital Reporting: Investing for Sustainable Growth 2014, quoting a NESTA report by Goodrich et al Technology and the Arts. I'm always a bit suspicious of these kinds of calculation, but the overall message is pretty clear: we should be looking at how the money we spend (publicly and privately) on things like education and training (prime examples of intangibles) is effectively put to use, and not…
Read More

Higher education: UCAS shows more push behind the PP

What gives the Paula Principle its current salience is the difference levels of achievement between women and men in education of all kinds.   I've just been looking at the latest UCAS report on applications and entry to higher education.  It confirms the seemingly inexorable growth in the gap between female and male educational paths. First, the overall picture: - For 18 year olds in 2014 the entry rate increased (3.2 per cent proportionally for men, 3.7 per cent for women) to the highest recorded levels for both men (25.8 per cent) and women (34.1 per cent). As with application rates, 18 year old women were around a third (32…
Read More

Crossing cultures: flexibility and drug habits

I've argued several times in this blog for more attention to part-time work as the key to women being able to work to their level of competence (and men too…).  A report on Women and Flexible Working from the ippr (published,a tad puzzlingly, on Boxing Day) compares practices across 7 EU countries. The basic premiss is clear:  better practice on enabling women to work flexibly will be good for the economy, as well as for them personally.  Sweden, Netherlands and Germany are the leaders on both female employment levels and flexible working. The first two show particularly strong levels of employee choice over working time, with around 40% of women…
Read More

Gaps

A quick post following a good meeting yesterday organised by UCU, on widening access to higher education, in the august surrounding's of the Dean's Yard Westminster.  (My last post came from the even more distinguished crypt of St Paul's - where will I find myself next?). Two key issues struck me.  One was 'trends in gaps'.    Helen Thornley of UCAS gave details of the latest figures on applications and entries to universities.    The gap between those from the most and least advantaged backgrounds is diminishing - though not very fast, and not o the 'high tariff' (i.e. elite) universities.  At the same time, the gap between female and…
Read More

The tangibility of part-time work

"Between 1990 and 2011, the value of intangible assets in the UK grew from £50.2 billion to £137.5 billion, while at the same time the value of tangible, physical assets has increased much more slowly from £72.1 billion to £89.8 billion. In 2015, intangible investment will be 50% higher than investment in tangibles."   CIPD Human Capital Reporting: Investing for Sustainable Growth 2014, quoting a NESTA report by Goodrich et al Technology and the Arts. I'm always a bit suspicious of these kinds of calculation, but the overall message is pretty clear: we should be looking at how the money we spend (publicly and privately) on things like education and training (prime examples of intangibles) is effectively put to use, and not…
Read More

Higher education: UCAS shows more push behind the PP

What gives the Paula Principle its current salience is the difference levels of achievement between women and men in education of all kinds.   I've just been looking at the latest UCAS report on applications and entry to higher education.  It confirms the seemingly inexorable growth in the gap between female and male educational paths. First, the overall picture: - For 18 year olds in 2014 the entry rate increased (3.2 per cent proportionally for men, 3.7 per cent for women) to the highest recorded levels for both men (25.8 per cent) and women (34.1 per cent). As with application rates, 18 year old women were around a third (32…
Read More

Crossing cultures: flexibility and drug habits

I've argued several times in this blog for more attention to part-time work as the key to women being able to work to their level of competence (and men too…).  A report on Women and Flexible Working from the ippr (published,a tad puzzlingly, on Boxing Day) compares practices across 7 EU countries. The basic premiss is clear:  better practice on enabling women to work flexibly will be good for the economy, as well as for them personally.  Sweden, Netherlands and Germany are the leaders on both female employment levels and flexible working. The first two show particularly strong levels of employee choice over working time, with around 40% of women…
Read More