How Obama's Pick for Fed Chair Became Obama's Sexism Test

Article here. Excerpt:

'The "race" for the next Federal Reserve chair has, in a way, turned into a test of the White House's openness to women. It's the second time that's happened this year. Though Obama won the women's vote, and Democrats campaigned against a Republican "war on women," by January the president was facing criticism his cabinet was getting too white and too male. A widely-circulated photo showed the Oval Office packed with 10 male advisers, with only the leg of a single female aide visible. For the last few weeks, the same kind of controversy has been brewing over who will be the next Fed chair.

Among people who talk about these things, the field's been narrowed down to two candidates: former Treasury Secretary and National Economic Council chairman Larry Summers and current Fed vice chairwoman Janet Yellen. Yellen would be the first woman to lead the Fed, if President Obama decides to pick her. A lot of people think he should.

The case for Yellen: Economists, according to two new polls, think she's the best choice for the job. A comprehensive Wall Street Journal study showed that of 14 Fed policy makers, Yellen made the most accurate financial predictions between 2009 and 2012. The case against Yellen: an assortment of sexist cliches. Summers wouldn't be a bad choice, necessarily. But the fact that he's gotten in trouble for sexist comments in the past doesn't help.'