Giving the Economy a Dose of Feminine Values

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Halla Tomasdottir, who began her career working in America’s corporate world, including Pepsi-Cola and Mars/M&Ms, says that what the world economy really needs is a good dose of “feminine values”. Halla Tomasdottir, an Icelandic woman, has had a long and remarkably successful career in the financial world at a time when it seems everyone else in the business is falling apart. In 2007 she left her position as managing director of Iceland’s Chamber of Commerce to co-found Audur Capital with her business partner Kristin Petursdottir. Audur Capital is a wealth management firm that puts a heavy emphasis on certain values they believe stem from the basic nature of women. These values include: independence, risk awareness, straight talk, emotional capital, and profit with principles.

Audur Capital was one of the few financial bodies that did not collapse during Iceland’s financial crash and Tomasdottir believes that had women been the ones running Iceland’s economy and major banking institutions, the country’s financial crash never would have occurred. Their website points out that, “A growing body of research demonstrates that companies owned or managed by women yield a higher long term return.” One neuroscientist wrote that men are chemically more prone than women to take risks and the gender imbalance in the financial world is a large part of the reason we see such huge swings in its success.

In addition to Tomasdottir’s emphasis on the role of women in the economic world, she also points to the growing importance of sustainability and social responsibility. Social values have played a large role in rebuilding the world’s economy. Tomasdottir says, “We simply reject the view that it is either about financial returns or social benefit. We think it is simply good business to do good business.”

Tomasdottir’s success is proof that a female perspective is good for business. During women’s history month we recognize the positive impact that women have on their communities in a host of fields.