The Paula Principle

Month: August 2015

Hillary and Montaigne: knowing when to stop

Readers of this blog may know that PP factor 5 is 'positive choice'.  That is, one of the five factors that explain why women work below their competence level is their capacity/willingness to choose not to go up one further rung on whatever career ladder they are on, even though they could (probably/possibly) do so. By 'positive' choice, I mean a decision that is, as far as we can tell, a free one, not driven by  the prospect of grumpy partner unwilling to increase their share of the childcare.  It would be good, incidentally, if more men made such choices; for one thing it would reduce the instances of the…
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Ageing and equality: a curious relationship

Another really interesting post from Rick at Flip Chart Fairy Tales, this time on the impact of gender equity on demographics worldwide.  Rick cites an important study by Anderson and Kohler of the University of Pennsylvania.  The basic point is that in countries where women go to work but there is no accompanying social change to reduce their domestic commitments, the birth rate falls. I've pointed before to Japan and Korea as countries where the Paula Principle applies particularly strongly, and it's no surprise to find they have dramatically ageing populations:  their highly educated women are forced to choose between children and careers, and even if they choose to carry on working…
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Qualifications, overqualification, etc

We've had the annual  pictures of  school leavers celebrating their A level results.  As usual most of the pictures feature girls, hugging each other or jumping in the air.  This is partly because girls have as always better results to celebrate, partly because they are more likely to be seen as photogenic.  I did see one  picture of a pair of boys congratulating each other, but the hug looked like a very awkward clinch from which both would break away as quickly as they could. The significant gender difference was quite a prominent theme amongst the comments.  Projections show us moving rapidly towards a 2:1 ratio in higher education, in…
Read More

Hillary and Montaigne: knowing when to stop

Readers of this blog may know that PP factor 5 is 'positive choice'.  That is, one of the five factors that explain why women work below their competence level is their capacity/willingness to choose not to go up one further rung on whatever career ladder they are on, even though they could (probably/possibly) do so. By 'positive' choice, I mean a decision that is, as far as we can tell, a free one, not driven by  the prospect of grumpy partner unwilling to increase their share of the childcare.  It would be good, incidentally, if more men made such choices; for one thing it would reduce the instances of the…
Read More

Ageing and equality: a curious relationship

Another really interesting post from Rick at Flip Chart Fairy Tales, this time on the impact of gender equity on demographics worldwide.  Rick cites an important study by Anderson and Kohler of the University of Pennsylvania.  The basic point is that in countries where women go to work but there is no accompanying social change to reduce their domestic commitments, the birth rate falls. I've pointed before to Japan and Korea as countries where the Paula Principle applies particularly strongly, and it's no surprise to find they have dramatically ageing populations:  their highly educated women are forced to choose between children and careers, and even if they choose to carry on working…
Read More

Qualifications, overqualification, etc

We've had the annual  pictures of  school leavers celebrating their A level results.  As usual most of the pictures feature girls, hugging each other or jumping in the air.  This is partly because girls have as always better results to celebrate, partly because they are more likely to be seen as photogenic.  I did see one  picture of a pair of boys congratulating each other, but the hug looked like a very awkward clinch from which both would break away as quickly as they could. The significant gender difference was quite a prominent theme amongst the comments.  Projections show us moving rapidly towards a 2:1 ratio in higher education, in…
Read More

Hillary and Montaigne: knowing when to stop

Readers of this blog may know that PP factor 5 is 'positive choice'.  That is, one of the five factors that explain why women work below their competence level is their capacity/willingness to choose not to go up one further rung on whatever career ladder they are on, even though they could (probably/possibly) do so. By 'positive' choice, I mean a decision that is, as far as we can tell, a free one, not driven by  the prospect of grumpy partner unwilling to increase their share of the childcare.  It would be good, incidentally, if more men made such choices; for one thing it would reduce the instances of the…
Read More

Ageing and equality: a curious relationship

Another really interesting post from Rick at Flip Chart Fairy Tales, this time on the impact of gender equity on demographics worldwide.  Rick cites an important study by Anderson and Kohler of the University of Pennsylvania.  The basic point is that in countries where women go to work but there is no accompanying social change to reduce their domestic commitments, the birth rate falls. I've pointed before to Japan and Korea as countries where the Paula Principle applies particularly strongly, and it's no surprise to find they have dramatically ageing populations:  their highly educated women are forced to choose between children and careers, and even if they choose to carry on working…
Read More

Qualifications, overqualification, etc

We've had the annual  pictures of  school leavers celebrating their A level results.  As usual most of the pictures feature girls, hugging each other or jumping in the air.  This is partly because girls have as always better results to celebrate, partly because they are more likely to be seen as photogenic.  I did see one  picture of a pair of boys congratulating each other, but the hug looked like a very awkward clinch from which both would break away as quickly as they could. The significant gender difference was quite a prominent theme amongst the comments.  Projections show us moving rapidly towards a 2:1 ratio in higher education, in…
Read More