The Paula Principle

Month: August 2018

Japan doctoring figures: a taste of things to come?

Japan, along with Korea, is the outstanding example of a country where the Paula Principle is powerfully at work. Japanese women are very highly educated, with one of the highest rates of female university graduation in all OECD countries, nearing 50%; and yet the gender pay gap is also one of the highest, at around 30%. The main reasons for this are well known. Very long working hours and lack of affordable chidcare are two, but what really marks Japan out is a domestic culture that makes them solely responsible for child- and eldercare, and a corporate culture that remains very traditionally hierarchical and male. Women are discouraged from climbing…
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Summer clearout

Accumulated cuttings from my desk on Paula-related issues: 1. 'City urged to close gender boys gap'. (FT) A Commons Treasury Committee argues that financial services companies should overhaul their remuneration policies to tackle the 'alpha male' culture. The GPG (Gender Pay Gap) requirements have certainly illustrated dramatically how the gap for bonuses is generally far bigger than for salaries. Whether the alpha male culture exists is another matter; personally I think it does, but Cordelia Fine, whose work I respect, advises us to be a bit cautious on this. 2. 'Oprah inspires women investors everywhere'. (FT) Very few of the people featured as financial investors in the papers are women.…
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Japan doctoring figures: a taste of things to come?

Japan, along with Korea, is the outstanding example of a country where the Paula Principle is powerfully at work. Japanese women are very highly educated, with one of the highest rates of female university graduation in all OECD countries, nearing 50%; and yet the gender pay gap is also one of the highest, at around 30%. The main reasons for this are well known. Very long working hours and lack of affordable chidcare are two, but what really marks Japan out is a domestic culture that makes them solely responsible for child- and eldercare, and a corporate culture that remains very traditionally hierarchical and male. Women are discouraged from climbing…
Read More

Summer clearout

Accumulated cuttings from my desk on Paula-related issues: 1. 'City urged to close gender boys gap'. (FT) A Commons Treasury Committee argues that financial services companies should overhaul their remuneration policies to tackle the 'alpha male' culture. The GPG (Gender Pay Gap) requirements have certainly illustrated dramatically how the gap for bonuses is generally far bigger than for salaries. Whether the alpha male culture exists is another matter; personally I think it does, but Cordelia Fine, whose work I respect, advises us to be a bit cautious on this. 2. 'Oprah inspires women investors everywhere'. (FT) Very few of the people featured as financial investors in the papers are women.…
Read More