As the time comes to appoint a new Fed Chair, the Administration has an opportunity to change its course with respect to both its economic policy and its treatment of women.
It was dismaying when Larry Summers was appointed as Chair of the NEC in 2008. At an NBER conference in 2005, Summers publicly speculated that: (1) most women just aren't all that into high-powered work; (2) among very, very smart people, there might be five men for every woman; and (3) these facts are probably not attributable to socialization. Because, you know, his daughters like to play daddy trucks and baby trucks.
People have made racist, pseudoscientific claims about African Americans and IQ before. But we wouldn't—or at least shouldn't—tolerate such people in public office. Why tolerate Summers?