'Female caution might do wonders' (From Bournemouth Echo)

'Female caution might do wonders'

9:40am Wednesday 31st December 2008 in

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RISK taking is believed to be at the heart of the economic downturn, according to findings by The Aziz Corporation, the UK executive leadership and development consultancy.

Eighty-nine per cent of business executives believe that a culture, which encouraged and rewarded the taking of excessive risk contributed to the financial crisis.

Professor Khalid Aziz, chairman of The Aziz Corporation, said:“The business community has clearly registered that a risk-taking culture was a major factor in driving many financial institutions to the brink of collapse, and that the macho and male-dominated working environment of city firms lay behind that culture. Politically incorrect though it may be, the fact is that men and women are different. There is now some accepted evidence of different personality traits and attitudes to risk.”

He added: “While the glass ceiling has been much talked about over the last decade, nothing has been done to dismantle it. Many firms have regarded it as a mere matter of political correctness that can be safely ignored.

“A little more application of female caution and intuition might do wonders for our major financial institutions.”

Among business executives there appears to be a consensus that men are more likely to take risks. Fifty-four per cent agree that men are more competitive than women, while 61 per cent believe that women tend to be more cautious and risk-averse than men.

According to the research, 74 per cent of respondents believe that in the recent boom, any senior executive advocating caution would have been regarded as ‘wimpish’ or lacking in competitive drive.