By Ashling O'Connor and Sathnam Sangera in Davos

Commentators who have spent years refining their definition of the quintessential "Davos Man" are being forced back to the drawing board to assess the impact on the annual forum of an increasingly influential executive animal: "Davos Woman".

This year there are more female participants in the World Economic Forum than ever before and they mean business. In the process, the stereotypical image of the Davos "Trophy Wife", draped casually over the arm of a powerful husband, is gradually being broken down.

At a breakfast meeting of leading women participants on Saturday, the attendees included chief executives of multi-million dollar corporations, former presidential advisers, broadcasters, enterprise and scientists.

acha Levinson, WEF director, said: "These women are not here to discuss women issues. They are business executives and have to rush off to meetings and sessions. This is why we have this so early. They don't really get the chance to meet each other and exchange ideas."

It irks Lyric Hughes, chief executive of China Online, that the rise of women to top positions in business should be such an issue in itself. Yet her place as a woman on the panel of a Davos sessions is a rare sight. Ms Hughes is also part of a new phenomenon at the forum: the "Davos Power Couple". Her husband is David Hale, Global Chief Economist for Zurich Financial Services, a long time contributor to the forum.

"It works well with David and I here. We get a lot of meeting people of interest for each of our businesses, and its good fun," she said.

The Internet, the seam threading through all parts of the six day conference, has also helped to tip the balance of power at Davos towards women. The rapid growth of the technology sector has highlighted the success of women such as Candice Carpenter, chief executive of Village, the top women's internet site with 4.6m members.

The majority of policy makers and chief executives who make the trip to Davos have traditionally brought along their spouses for a week of shopping and skiing.

Indeed, the whole idea of the World Economic Forum at Davos was sown by founder Klaus Schwab because he and his wife, Hilde, once enjoyed a pleasant holiday at the resort and thought that the skiing was rather good.

It had become accepted that "Davos Man" went to the formal plenary sessions in an attempt to shape the global agenda,
while their wives spend money and met other ladies-who-lunch. In the evening they would invariably pop up at engagements wearing a shiny frock.

However, the wives are fighting back. Susan Conway, who is married to Gordon Conway, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, epitomises the new spirit sweeping Davos. While her husband networks, Mrs Conway is spending her time developing her own contacts.

"We are not just appendages," she said. "The wives have their own networking system. I was at dinner last night and I spent the evening talking to the South African prime minister's wife. Although we were both the wives of Davos participants we talked about our interests and work."

Gillian Clarke, wife of Kenneth Clarke, the former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, is another Davos Wife determined to make the most of the forum on her own terms. "You have only got to read the British press to know that I'm not a trophy wife," she protests. "I go to whatever I'm interested in - the sessions on NGOs have been very interesting this year."

In the end, there are some wives who are just not interested. Sir Leon Brittan the former EC commissioner who has been coming to Davos for 11 years, says that his wife has never even expressed any interest in the occasion. "I ask her, but the answer is always no," he said. "She doesn't want to follow me around to all these meetings."


Join FT Davos correspondents in online discussions:

LIONEL BARBER:
Europe needs a US-style constitution
GUY DE JONQUIERES:
Who will fight globalisation's corner?
DAVID PILLING
Who will foot the global healthcare bill?

chat  online

Join the discussion


agenda 2000
Global health

net resources 

Davos on the web


profile 
Mikhail Kasyanov

guide 

What is Davos?


timeline 
WEF's 30th birthday

agenda  2000

The new economy