“Women problem” ?

“If Dartmouth’s Jim Yong Kim can’t stand up to patriarchal attitudes on a tiny New Hampshire campus, what are his chances as World Bank president?” thats the opening salvo by Colleen Leahey of Fortune Magazine in her article “The World Bank’s women problem” 

She goes on to say “The most recent issue of Rolling Stone includes a colorful, disturbing retelling of former Dartmouth frat boy Andrew Lohse’s harrowing experience as a brother at Sigma Alpha Epsilon.”

“Kim met with Dartmouth alumni shortly after taking office in 2009. A fan of the Greek system, he “reassured them he had no intention of overhauling the fraternities,” even though their reputation of hazing and sexual assault was no secret.”

“Gayle Lemmon, who is a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, says culture is often used as an excuse for not investing in women. Interestingly enough, Kim defended his response to Dartmouth’s frat scene by telling Rolling Stone, “One of the things you learn as an anthropologist, you don’t come in and change the culture.”

 She then asks “His forgiving attitude then raises the question: If Kim can’t stand up to fraternal culture on a tiny New Hampshire campus, how can he stand up to patriarchal culture on a global stage?”

5 thoughts on ““Women problem” ?

  1. I think the bank’s resources are directed toward the promotion of foreign trade and interregional infrastructure development, macro integrators between countries and regions, this is the opening we need to emergenes, home to the bulk of the world’s population and generates the greatest social benefits.

  2. I do feel more than a bit uncomfortable connecting the article about Dartmouth with Jim Yong Kim´s candidacy to the presidency of the World Bank, but, that said, as a citizen of a country cursed by the centralization of huge oil revenues, I would really not want to have someone defending inaction on changing that centralization or fighting the ensuing corruption, because of it “being a cultural thing”

  3. Linking a persistent and historical fratboy culture at Dartmouth to Jim Kim is as improper and offensive as linking Ngozi to a culture of cronyism and corruption in Nigeria, or Ocampo to Colombia’s drug dealers.

    And about as relevant to how they’d manage the World Bank for change and relevance.

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