Overview of the Science on Differences Between the Sexes in Thinking and Behavior - Building Gender Balanced Business

• Irving Wladawsky-Berger, chairman emeritus of the IBM Academy of Technology and a lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Imperial College, recently outlined some of the science that underlines differences in approaches to risk and empathy (and thus investing and management) between the sexes.

• His blog summarises and links to studies and commentaries, many of which appear elsewhere on this site, and he then poses the questions: “Is there any merit to these discussions of gender-based differences in behavior among traders or in other professions? Should we raise such questions even though they are often highly charged…?”

• As a scientist, he answers firmly in the affirmative, and then notes that monitoring such differences benefits not only science but also organisations, and specifically such industries as finance.

• “Whether in biology, business or academia, a diversity of behaviors and skills is important for the health of a group, especially a group that is tackling highly complex problems in a fast changing environment.”

• Addressing the triggers of the economic crisis, he concludes, “I strongly believe that our financial systems would be significantly more robust if we had more women at all levels, from trading desks to senior executive position. Perhaps the higher levels of empathy that women generally have would have counter-balanced some of the extreme behaviors that contributed to the financial crisis.”

Irving Wladawsky-Berger’s blog entry