The Obama Old Boys Club -- Does the White House Economic Team Have a Woman Problem?

When FDR devised the policies which led our country out of the Great Depression, he had a secret weapon -- his wife, Eleanor. Regrettably, as we struggle our way out of the worse economic crisis since then, Treasury Secretary Geithner is attempting to silence one of the few female voices in leading us out: Elizabeth Warren. This despite ample evidence that having more women in financial leadership, ala Lehman Brothers and Lehman Sisters, is optimal for balancing risk in our financial system. 

The two men leading our country's economic policy, Geithner and Larry Summers, seem unwilling and perhaps incapable of working with women. That is why President Obama should not only nomination Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, but also proactively seek to add gender balance to his economic inner circle. 

The problem goes deeper still. President Obama's economic inner circle includes only one woman: Christina Romer. And of course, it is hardly a secret that tensions are high for Ms. Romer and her all male colleagues, including Larry Summers: Mrs. Romer was joking, she said in an interview, adding, "There are only a few times that I felt like smacking Larry." Yet few laughed in the president's presence.

One can only imagine. Romer is girl trying to operate in a boys' club.

Which is why it's time for President Obama to knock the door off of the boys' club and let the girls into his inner economic circle. We can hardly afford to lose another immensely qualified woman. The opportunity cost to our economic prosperity is simply too great."