Back in February, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof speculated that things could have been very different if Lehman Brothers had been Lehman Sisters. Less macho and testosterone driven.

Now the Washington Post reports there is a growing view that global economic recovery will need a healthy dose of estrogen. It cites research from accounting giant Ernst & Young showing that companies with more women in senior management roles make more money and research showing that Fortune 500 companies with three or more women in senior management positions score higher on top measures of organizational excellence. Furthermore, companies with three or more women on their boards outperformed the competition on all measures by at least 40%.

Several weeks ago, I speculated on whether women would in my Management Line blog. In that blog entry, I cited claims by management thinker Daniel Goleman that women had better management skills as they had more emotional intelligence.

It's an interesting argument. But so far, women are still running behind men in most organizations. Despite the research and claims, it's unlikely to change that quickly. Or will it?