In her cover piece for this week’s Spectator, Alison Wolf describes the divide between ‘alpha females’ and other women. Here are some of the starkest differences, illustrated using figures from her book The XX Factor.
1. The rise of the alpha female.
‘In England, by the age of 16, girls are dividing into two distinct groups. The top sixth set off along a well-signed route: more hard work at A-level, and then a good university (where they can lose their virginity to an alpha-track boy). A full bachelor’s degree and, increasingly often, a postgraduate one as well; and a well-paid “Class 1” alpha job, professional or managerial.
It’s the same all over Europe and North America, where half of “Class 1” jobs are held by women. Professional men work with and for them, just as they work with and for men. It may not be half-and-half at the very top, but in these integrated workplaces, an all-male meeting is a curious sight.’
2.
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