Why don’t women rule the world?

Last week I wrote about the need for greater gender diversity in the financial sector, and ever since then I haven’t been able to escape it. Not so much the post itself, but the topic. It started off simply enough, with two comments and an email. That got me thinking, though – in journalism doesn’t three constitute a trend? Apparently the same holds true for blog topics, as I recently saw a story about the scientific benefits of having more women in finance on the front page of Yahoo. The piece, originally from ABC News, was entitled Should Women Rule the World? Putting aside that thoughtfully posed question, to which my response is: why not? I am forced to pose a question of my own: Why don’t women rule the world?

In the manner of bloggers everywhere, I shall now proceed to answer my own question, at least partially. Women don’t rule the world because enough of them aren’t in a position to do so. A case in point, about a year and a half ago German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for greater transparency in financial markets and she was summarily “squashed by all the men,” according to Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff. “She was a lone voice and that’s the problem.”

Increasing the number of women in the financial sector would presumably resolve this type of dilemma on Wall Street at least. And where Wall Street goes, Main Street is sure to follow. This much at least, we should all have learned by now.

In its story, ABC News asked whether talk of the benefits of gender balance in the financial sector is the next big thing? One can only hope...