There was an interesting article in The Times last week about the commercial importance of women directors. The article was based on the research described in A woman's place is in the boardroom by Peninah Thomson and Jacey Graham.

I think we all understand how important it is to recognise that the previous waste of half the intellectual and business talent of the world has been ridiculous and yet the 100 top public companies in the UK boast only twelve female executive directors. The authors list a series of reasons, described as 'problems' and one of my female colleagues pointed to this one, which rings true with me too.

Problem: A major reason why women don’t reach senior levels is because, as individuals, they don’t think that they’re good enough. They also tend to assume that by doing a good job and working hard, recognition will follow. This does not happen, and is not helped by women’s awkwardness in discussing their own merits, especially as men excel at telling the world how great they are. Worse, women are also inclined to broadcast their limitations.

I had an annual treat last night - a visit to Glyndebourne Opera House for a weird and wonderful production of Verdi's Macbeth. The three witches emerging from 1950s-style caravans will remain with me a very long time. Reviews have been mixed but The Guardian liked it and so did I. The other weird and wonderful thing about Glyndebourne is that people actually dress up in black tie etc in order to have a picnic in the garden and in the rain. Strange lot, these Brits.

We had an interesting comment from Vanessa at the Fidra blog about the pricing of scholarly books. She says:

Or is it that publishers can get away with charging £45 for an academic text because they're mainly bought via library budgets rather by individuals putting their hands in their pockets?

Clearly she is right that libraries are more likely to pay £45 for a book (however good it is) than individuals. What I slightly object to (I am a very sensitive soul) is the phrase 'get away with'. It implies a degree of crookedness. Nobody in his/her right business mind charges less for something than the customer is willing to pay. A very wise publisher of law books, Gordon Graham now of Logos but then head of Butterworth's now (sadly) known as Lexis-Nexis used to regale training courses with two pieces of wisdom;

In order to stay in the publishing business charge more than customers want to pay but no more than they can afford to pay.

And:

In order to keep your job in a corporate environment always show profits slightly ahead of your boss's expectations but always hold back a bit for next year.