Feminine Values in Financial Services

Wasn't sure where to post this, but I wanted to hear your thoughts on Halla Tomasdottir's TED talk about the Icelandic financial meltdown.

http://www.ted.com/talks/halla_tomasdottir.html

Her idea is to take typically "feminine" values and apply them to financial services. These include independence, risk awareness, straight talk, emotional capital, and profit with principles. She's been pretty damn successful, too. The whole talk is interesting, so I'd give it a listen.

So, a few questions questions. First, do you agree that these are "feminine" values, or just intelligent/sound ones? And second, do you think these values are even intelligent or sound? Finally, what do you think about her argument to bring more women into finance to have a breadth of values and ideas to help reduce risk of meltdowns?

I'm not sure if I really have an opinion yet, so I want to hear some thoughts from seasoned industry monkeys.

14 Comments
 

yea while the guys fixed the screw ups her feminine valued kitchen staff cooked up some sandwiches, eggs, bacon(with out wings), coffee, cereal and most importantly used independent risk awarness to straight talk with the men to give them emotional capitals to rise their pp(profit with principles)

 
blastoiseyea while the guys fixed the screw ups her feminine valued kitchen staff cooked up some sandwiches, eggs, bacon(with out wings), coffee, cereal and most importantly used independent risk awarness to straight talk with the men to give them emotional capitals to rise their pp(profit with principles)

Why the cereal? Are you on a diet or something?

More is good, all is better
 

By imply that feminine values include " independence, risk awareness, straight talk, emotional capital, and profit with principles" the standing assumption is that these are principles that only someone with a uterus is capable of, which is rather snotty and holier than thou. They're all good ideas, depending on the context. The real question is what concrete things she would actually change - my guess would be nothing, but I'm already too annoyed by her message to actually watch her little spiel.

 

Why didn't she mention mood swings, bloating, spontaneously bursting into tears, hugging people you don't know all that well just to make the people around you think you guys are BFFs, bad hair days, smelly vaginal discharges or posting flattering comments on the FB pages of other girls who you secretly want to wipe of the face of the Earth?

Regards

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 
AnonIcelandicBankerFeminism, she is doing it wrong. Bringing back the notion of female moral superiority is a throwback to the Victorian area. I like what she stands for but completely loses the point in bringing the male vs female so called traits into this, it doesn't belong and completely destroys her argument by alienating half the population.

That's what I'm inclined to think. To me those are just smart values, not anything specifically feminine or not. I wish she had taken more of stance for equality, that people in finance regardless of gender need to start upholding those values instead -- I think it would've gotten her point across more effectively.

 

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