New Delhi:
Holding on to their position on the men's turf, some women have proved that they can be as good on any front. The financial sector, particularly banking, generally seen as a male bastion was charmed by the fair few in 2009.
These women who took up the top job did not have an easy ride. Adversity came in the form of the economic crisis that made the going tough even for the toughest of the chief executives the world over. Several top honchos could not grapple with the sudden outburst and magnitude of the crisis sweeping the globe and made an hasty exit.
The women calling the shots at the country's financial institutions, however, continued undeterred. Vested with the responsibility of looking after millions of deposits from those who had trusted the bank, the women not only had to ensure the banking function was carried out smoothly but also had to guard their banks from the ripples created by the collapse of the large entities.
At the height of the crisis -- ICICI Bank trusted their old hand, Chanda Kochhar. Kochhar had joined the private sector lender as a management trainee and was later handpicked to spearhead the group's major initiatives. After successfully serving the bank for over two decades, she now sits pretty at the top.
While Kochhar took the reigns of ICICI Bank, her colleague Shikha Sharma moved on to run Axis Bank. Known as the start-up queen she has cradled many ventures which have grown into big businesses.
Moving from home-grown lenders, the other faces who have made their mark include JP Morgan's Kalpana Morparia, HSBC's Naina Lal Kidwai and Meera Sanyal of ABN Amro.
Occupying the corner office, the lawyer-turned CEO, Kalpana Morparia, began her second innings with JP Morgan after retiring from Punjab National Bank.
Also a former, ICICI hand, Morparia took charge during the economic recession and within a few months she has helped the bank bag several overseas equity issues of corporate houses like Tata Power and Tata Steel.
Kidwai, on the other hand, proved her mettle early in her career and has continued it since. At the age of 28, she was heading the investment banking division of ANZ Grindlays.
After joining HSBC in 2005, she became its India chief within three years. She was also among the bankers who stood the test when the Indian banking sector was looking for ways to insulate it from the crisis.
Add to the list another banker, Meera Sanyal-- who went from board room to ballot. Starting her career with ANZ Grindlays, Sanyal joined ABM Amro in 2002 and in few years she became the country head of the organization. In May this year, she took a sabbatical from her high-flying job only to contest elections.
There are others, too, who made their mark in the male-dominated bastion like Manisha Girotra of UBS and Ashu Suyash of Fidelity.
Though 2009 saw many women in India making it to the top job at various financial services institutions in the Fortune 500 list, only 7 per cent women CEOs are from financial services.
But for now, its good to know that these few have waded through the water during adverse times and are beacons of hope, if not less.