Shocker: At I.M.F., Men on Prowl and Women on Guard

[EFerrari]

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: May 19, 2011

WASHINGTON — It is an international island in the midst of the American capital, a sharp-elbowed place ruled by alpha male economists. The days are long, and employees are regularly pressed together for weeks on end during overseas “missions.” It is a climate in which romances often flourish — and lines are sometimes crossed.

Some women avoid wearing skirts for fear of attracting unwanted attention. Others trade whispered tips about overly forward bosses. A 2008 internal review found few restraints on the conduct of senior managers, concluding that “the absence of public ethics scandals seems to be more a consequence of luck than good planning and action.”

This is life at the International Monetary Fund, the lender of last resort for governments that need money and, under the leadership of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, an emerging force in the regulation of the global economy.

But with Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s arrest earlier this week and indictment on Thursday on charges that he tried to rape a New York hotel housekeeper, a spotlight has been cast on the culture of the institution. And questions have been revived about a 2008 episode in which the I.M.F. decided that Mr. Strauss-Kahn had not broken any rules in sleeping with a female employee.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/business/20fund.html?_r=3&hp

[elleng]

1. Posted earlier. Interesting, eh?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1138812

P.S., Didja know IMF (and World Bank) employees don't pay U.S. income tax?

[EFerrari]

7. I don't know how I missed that.

Thanks for the link, elleng.

[elleng]

9. Not much interest around here,

in what I as a woman and former DC resident think is interesting.

[Me.]

2. He Didn't Exactly "sleep" With A Subordinate

As I understand it, it was another act pf aggression though not specified as rape

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. Predatory culture. sad

[LetTimmySmoke]

4. It's a bunch of bankers. What do you expect?

Same crowd as brought down our economy. Why would you expect any different from the IMF types than the Goldman Sachs or AIG or Lehman Bros types?

[Canuckistanian]

6. They often trade Executives

It's an incestuous relationship.

[joshcryer]

5. I wonder if this article would be banned in France.

I think it comes close to being negative reporting about figures without their consent.

[joeybee12]

8. I'm not sure any business climate, specifically in the financial world...

would be much different.