The Best Candidate for Fed Chair Is a Woman, So Why Consider Larry Summers?
Ben Bernanke is set to step down as the chairman of the Federal Reserve in January, leaving Obama an opportunity to make history by appointing the first female chair of the Fed, a move that would help shatter the image of the financial world as a rigid boys club. Luckily for Obama, the best-qualified candidate to be Bernanke's successor just happens to be a woman, Janet Yellen. As Shelia Bair of Fortune explains:
Certainly, there is no better qualified candidate to fill Bernanke's shoes when he steps down in January. A noted economist, Yellen headed the Council of Economic Advisors for two years; led the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank for six years; and has served ably as Bernanke's Vice Chairman since 2010. Unlike Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, and Bob Rubin—minions frequently mentioned in the financial press as potential Bernanke successors—she was not part of the deregulatory cabal that got us into the 2008 financial crisis. In fact, she had a solid record as a bank regulator at the San Francisco Fed and was one of the few in the Fed system to sound the alarm on the risks of subprime mortgages in 2007.
Also, we're in an unsteady recovery, so picking the woman instrumental in Bernanke's efforts to stabilize the economy is the best way to keep things moving in the right direction. This is what the econo-nerds call "continuity." So what's the problem?
Well, as reported last week by Ezra Klein of the Washington Post, there's apparently a whisper campaign against Yellen that, in what is surely just a coincidence and totally not related to sexism, just so happens to touch on some claims that evoke ugly, sexist stereotypes about women's supposed inability to handle the world of finance. Klein describes some of the concern trolling he's stumbled across:
She lacks “toughness.” She’s short on “gravitas.” Too “soft-spoken” or “passive.” Some mused that she is not as aggressively brilliant or intellectually probing as other candidates — though they hasten to say she’s clearly very knowledgeable about monetary policy. Others have wondered whether she could handle the inevitable fights with Congress.
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http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/07/24/janet_yellen_is_the_most_qualified_pick_for_federal_reserve_chair_so_why.html
