the paula principle “most women work below their level of competence” tom schuller nhs employers...
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The Paula Principle
“Most women work below their level of competence”
Tom Schuller
NHS Employers Strategic ForumOct 2014
www.paulaprinciple.com
The challenge
“The NHS is committed to offering development and learning opportunities for all full-time and part-time staff. No matter where you start within the NHS you'll have access to extra training and be given every opportunity to progress within the organisation.”
www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/working-in-the-nhs/developing-your-career/
The Peter Principle (1969)
“Every employee rises to his level of incompetence”
The Paula Principle in short
Across OECD countries, a growing female/male gender gap in educational performance.
But on the employment side – careers and pay – the male\female gap is closing only slowly – if at all.
Source OECD Closing the Gender Gap 2012
Key Crossovers
Girls overtake boys in getting 2+ A levels1989
Women overtake men in HE participation 1994
Ditto at postgraduate level 2001
Proportion of population undertaking training or education in last four weeks by age and
gender
Source: Eurostat; in Houston & Osborne THEMP 2013
Women more likely to go on adding to their human capital…..
Whilst on pay and careers it’s a very different story……..
Source: HM Revenue and customs 28/12/2012
Pay gap: closing but for how long? The crucial importance of a lifecourse perspective
20 30 400
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1958 cohort1970 cohort
Age
perc
engt
age
gap
Source: Jenny Neuberger
% of women in the NHS :• · chief executives – 40%• · finance directors – 26%• · nursing directors – 87%• · HR directors – 69%• · medical directors – 24%
% of consultants: 67% men 33% women
% of doctors in training: 42% men 58% women
”Full-time women achieved hospital consultant status slightly earlier– on average in 11.3 years compared to full-time men’s 11.7 - and they are as likely as men if not more so to be found working in hospital specialisms as in general practice, though their specialism choices are different. But women who at any point work part-time are very heavily over-represented in general practice, and take much longer to achieve consultant status, if they get there at all. Amongst the 1977 and 1988 graduates working in hospitals only 67% of those who had not always worked full-time from the first two cohorts had reached consultant status, compared with 96% of men and 92% of women who had always worked full-time.”
Kathryn S Taylor, Trevor W Lambert, Michael J Goldacre, ‘ Career progression and destinations, comparing men and women in the NHS: postal questionnaire surveys’, British Medical Journal 2009;338:b1735
‘Careers’: not only ‘professionals’
Phlebotomists are specialised clinical support workers/assistant healthcare scientists who collect blood from patients for examination in laboratories, the results of which, provide valuable information to diagnosing illness.
What explains the PP?
• Discrimination• Structural: child/eldercare• Psychology: self-confidence+• Vertical networks
• Choice
Issues for discussion (alongside the 5 factors)
• How accurately and appropriately do our systems reward ‘competence’?
• What more could be done to value ‘non-traditional’ career paths, especially when people have longer working lives?
• How far can you innovate/tailor your practices to meet the PP challenge ?