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October 18 2008 | Financial Times | From Ms Lamia Walker. Sir, Curious, isn't it, that Iceland has just appointed two women executives to rebuild its financial system ("Iceland calls in women bankers to clean up 'young men's mess' ", October 14). Elín Sigfúsdóttir and Birna Einarsdóttir are the new chief executives of New Landsbanki and New Glitnir respectively, the two new Icelandic banks. Is a new culture emerging within the banking system? Possibly; both women are impressive home-grown talent and I hope they are given full rein and time to exercise their experience. But do we really need a crisis to bring suitable women into focus for senior appointments? The "glass cliff theory" comes to mind - women given senior appointments only in sink-or-swim situations. No doubt all new chief executives are facing an icy precipice right now, yet the stereotypes in the quote from the governmental official are worrying: "Now the women are taking over. It's typical, the men make the mess and the women come in to clean it up." This is how we describe Iceland's most trusted banking executives today? Unforeseen economic challenges are reshaping the world. While most observers say no one could have predicted the current crisis, respected sources have advised for years that company boards should deliver more efficient, stable and profitable results when they are gender-diverse (University of Helsinki, 2006; Catalyst 2002, 2007, McKinsey 2007). Professor Lynda Gratton at London Business School found that professional teams perform at optimum innovative potential only when composed of 50 per cent men and 50 per cent women. Experts agree that gender-diverse teams are best, yet a glacial rate of progress shows it may be some time before executive boards meet their full potential. Academics also advise that women offer advantages in their typical leadership style but still suffer from a prejudging of their competencies as leaders, especially in a masculine culture. Yet organisations have an opportunity right now to capture the movement in social change by appointing qualified women to key positions. Lamia Walker, Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
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