‘Is the credit crunch a feminist issue?’

Christine Lagarde posed this question at the beginning of the year. People thought she was confused but nowadays it’s a hot topic. The ‘Lehman Sisters’ question’ – whether having more women at the top of financial institutions might have tamed the crunch – has been widely aired.

Academic work proves that the suggestions, that alpha-male behaviour might have contributed to the economic crisis, are true. Dr John Coates of Cambridge University discovered a link between high levels of testosterone in traders and risk-taking. Alpha-men (or men with a high level of testosterone) are more likely to take risks.

According to a number of studies there is a positive correlation between the amount of women in a company’s board and the performance of the company. Women handle money better in a crisis than men. The value of female-run hedge funds has dropped by 9.6% in the past year, compared with 19% of the rest, according to Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research.

Annelore Demaegdt

Source: article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/27/ruth-sunderland-women-boardroomn
             picture: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:UMP_regional_elections_IlM_2010-02-18_n07.jpg