Betty Dodson with Carlin Ross

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After the crash, Iceland's women lead the rescue

Iceland's spectacular meltdown was caused by a banking and business
culture that was buccaneering, reckless - and overwhelmingly male.
Business editor Ruth Sunderland travelled to Reykjavik to meet the
women now running the country, and heard how they are determined to
reinvent business and society by injecting values of openness, fairness
and social responsibility

On Bondadagur, or Husband's Day, the menfolk of Iceland are spoiled by their wives and girlfriends, who serve them with
traditional delicacies such as ram's testicles and sheep's head jelly,
a recipe for which is handily included in the latest online edition of
Iceland Review, alongside the latest bulletins on the economic meltdown.

Icelandic
women, however, are more likely to be studying the financial news than
the recipes - and more likely to be thinking about how to put right the
mess their men have made of the banking system than about cooking them
comfort food. The tiny nation, with a population of just over 300,000
people, has been overwhelmed by an economic disaster that is
threatening its very survival. But for a generation of fortysomething
women, the havoc is translating into an opportunity to step into the
positions vacated by the men blamed for the crisis, and to play a
leading role in creating a more balanced economy, which, they argue,
should incorporate overtly feminine values.

The ruling male elite is scarcely in a position to argue.

...

Iceland was the first in the world into the crisis, but we could be
the first out, and women have a big role to play in that. It goes back
to our Viking women. While the men were out there raping and pillaging,
the women were running the show at home.

"We have five core
feminine values. First, risk awareness: we will not invest in things we
don't understand. Second, profit with principles - we like a wider
definition so it is not just economic profit, but a positive social and
environmental impact. Third, emotional capital. When we invest, we do
an emotional due diligence - or check on the company - we look at the
people, at whether the corporate culture is an asset or a liability.
Fourth, straight talking. We believe the language of finance should be
accessible, and not part of the alienating nature of banking culture.
Fifth, independence. We would like to see women increasingly
financially independent, because with that comes the greatest freedom
to be who you want to be, but also unbiased advice."

...

Waagfjörd points a finger at young, inexperienced men who, she says,
became too dominant in the boom. "I was in the US for six years, and
when I came back 10 years ago, at the age of 40, things had really
changed. Suddenly there were a lot of young men about 35 or 30. They
used to call to try to sell me derivatives which were really
complicated. They thought they were really clever, but they were still
living at home with their parents."

...

Not everyone in Iceland has bought into the idea that women will
revolutionise capitalism. "Women would like to think it's their turn
now, but it won't be - there will be a bit of fuss for a while but men
will keep the real power at the top," said a local taxi driver in his
sixties. "I'm not giving you my name, though, because my wife speaks
English and she would kill me if she read that."

...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/22/iceland-women

A couple of days old, but a good read.

I was only missing Birgitta Jonsdottir a member of parliament and of "the movement", who tries not to surrender and bail out UK and Dutch banks.