With corporate Britain sinking into recession, and aggressive chief executives – from Royal Bank of Scotland’s Sir Fred Goodwin to HBOS’s Andy Hornby – being dumped, there are growing signs that the macho management style of the bull market is being seen as a dangerous anachronism. Some are murmuring that more women at the top is what we need.

With that in mind, Iceland recently appointed two women to head its newly nationalised big banks, with Elín Sigfúsdóttir taking over at New Landsbanki and Birna Einarsdóttir becoming head of New Glitnir. It has been suggested these women will be able to guide the banks through tough times without taking the kind of aggressive risks that brought the country’s banking system to its knees. One government official said at the time: “The men make the mess and the women come in to clean it up.”