Letters to the editor – 13/08 – Board quotas, Forward guidance, Best of Twitter
Board quotas
[Re: We must be more meritocratic – but quotas are not the answer, yesterday]
The quota plans come at a time when there is an existing organic trend towards greater workplace equality. More females apply to university than males, and 60 per cent of law and medicine students are women. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the pay gap for under-40s has vanished. For under-30s, women are paid on average more than men. So not only do quotas undermine the notion of a meritocratic society, but job trends are revealing them as unnecessary, too.
Charlie Russell
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Forward guidance
[Re: Why governor’s monetary revolution will eventually backfire, Thursday]
Employment is not a suitable metric for rate setting. It is a political target, not an economic one, and the correlation between unemployment and base rates is tenuous and highly lagged at best.
Paul J. Weighell
Mark Carney’s “forward guidance” strategy is continuing the torment for savers. These prudent individuals are not receiving rewards for looking after their money, and are likely to have the real value of their capital reduced by further inflation.
Clarence Baker
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BEST OF TWITTER
Entire world ignoring Japan’s QE addiction. Nearly three times the size of the US’s, with slowing GDP.
@Convertbond
Number of first-time buyers rockets 30 per cent year on year. Lambs to the slaughter?
@shortsterling
Pumping up the housing market will do nothing to address horrible collapse of business investment.
@Frances_Coppola
Overseas aid: studies show zero correlation between per capita development aid and GDP growth.
@DouglasCarswell