Interesting article in today's Washington Post about the British Parliament's hearings on that country's own financial industry problems. According to this, lots of people have taken a look at the fact that almost all of the banking industry's top executives are men and concluded that, to avoid similar problems in the future, they should put more women in charge.
Okay. Here's my take, as a card-carrying feminist. Do I think that it's a good idea to randomly promote women to run financial institutions (or any company) based on the principle that women are inherently more risk-averse than men? Um, no. Not even close. I don't for one minute buy that "women" (gotta love it when millions of people are lumped together as one unit) are either naturally less aggressive and more deliberative than "men," and that therefore all of this mess could've been avoided if only we had more vaginas on Wall St. And frankly, the idea that a woman, any woman, just because she's a woman, is too nurturing to act with the ruthless carelessness we've seen in the finance biz - it kinda pisses me off.
Here's what I do believe. I think that people - regardless of gender - who tolerate (and even enjoy) high-stress environments are attracted to jobs in finance (this does not include me, or my my male boss, which is why we work in higher education instead). I think that both men and women are capable of making the bad choices and cutting the corners that led to the current financial crisis.
I also think that any organization needs to have a diversity of personalities, viewpoints
and working styles, not just cosmetic "diversity" where everyone still thinks the same way. Let's go back to the example of my boss for a moment. He's a white man in his 40s, and I guarantee you that, had he been in the room when whatever genius it was hatched the plan to bundle worthless mortgages, he would've cried foul. So would every other man I work with. I'd rather have any of them at the table than, say, Carly Fiorina.
I really wish that the Post article had explored this more, instead of just regurgiating the same old "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" crap.
1 comment:
why stop there? let's make it mandatory for all companies to have a board of directors comprised of Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Left-wing radicals, right-wing radicals, and a gay and a lesbian. One of each sex. cept for the gay and lesbian. Are all our bases covered then?
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