The New York Times reports that despite the challenge women face to become leaders of banks in New York and London, many women fill senior positions in India. “HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and Fidelity International in India are run by women. So is the country’s second-biggest bank, Icici Bank, and its third-largest, Axis Bank.”

Chanda Kochhar, chief executive of Icici Bank

This may come as a surprise, for many families in certain parts of India favor boys over girls. According to female professionals in the industry, “India provided the right combination of supportive, mostly male, managers and a diverse work environment that did not require them to be ‘one of the boys’ to succeed.” The freedom from conforming to a stereotypically masculine banker persona, which is prevalent in Western banks, has allowed women to climb the ladder in their own way, which isn’t to say that they are exempt from hard work and long hours.

A managing partner from head-hunting firm EMA said that “bosses sometimes gravitate toward women in India because they think ‘women are less corruptible, more straightforward and above board most of the time.’” How does this view of women differ in other cultures?

How do you think Indian culture influences the success of women in this industry? How does culture in other parts of the world make it more difficult for women to attain the same positions? The article reminds us that “there are no women leading major American or European banks, and no woman has ever run a Wall Street investment bank.”

Click here to read the article.

RW-3.com