The professor who proposed the controversial ‘Paula Principle’, on why so many talented women fail to rise to the top at work, will deliver a public lecture on his theories in Newport this week.

Professor Tom Schuller, director of the think tank in Longview, and visiting professor of Birkbeck College, University of London, will be explaining his challenging argument that, unlike men, most women only make it to career positions which are below their level of competence.

An expert in the field of lifelong learning, the professor has highlighted how women perform better than men in education, and actually undertake more training than male colleagues once they enter the workforce, yet statistically far fewer of them secure senior jobs.

Professor Schuller will be delivering his lecture at 6pm on Thursday October 9 at Newport City Centre Campus of the University of South Wales, at the invitation of Chwarae Teg, the charity which works to create a better environment in Wales for women to achieve and prosper.

The event is one part of a series organised by Chwarae Teg in support of the current 50:50 by 2020 campaign, which aims to secure equal representation for women on boards of directors and other decision making bodies in Wales by the year 2020.

The Paula Principle, which focuses on the belief that women work below their level of competence, was developed as a mirror theory to the 1960s Peter Principle, which held that people usually keeping rising in their careers until they reach a level at which they are incompetent.

Joy Kent, chief executive of Chwarae Teg commented: “We are very pleased to have secured someone of Professor Schuller’s calibre for this important lecture. The Paula Principle sums up many of the problems women encounter on a daily basis, so to have the author of the principle here to talk through the issue first hand is a fantastic opportunity.”

More information from www.chwaraeteg.com.