Women with clout. That's not what got them on that list. Neither will power alone. To make the list, women had to have operating responsibility as well.

FORTUNE 500's second annual list of the 50 most powerful businesswomen outside the US is out. And it is quite clear that Indian women have made their mark. Two of them figure on that hallowed list - Naina Lal Kidwai, Exec Vice Chairman & CEO, HSBC Securities & Capital Markets and Vidya Chhabria, Chairwoman, Jumbo Group. Incidentally, women are scaling the corporate ladder in the financial sector faster than in any other field.

Naina Lal Kidwai (Rank 50), 43, the first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School and was the First Indian Woman on their rolls. Her qualifications, experience and instincts have underlined her success, and she readily admits, that gender has rarely been a barrier. She has been at the centre of some of the biggest M&As on the Indian landscape.

With 20 years experience in the banking and investment sector at ANZ Grindlays and subsequently Morgan Stanley, she is set to take global investment banking to new heights with her appointment as Exec Vice Chairman & CEO of HSBC Securities and Capital Markets.

In a male dominated sector, Ms Kidwai's skills at networking with the bureaucracy has seen her scale the corporate ladder rapidly. She is a creator of trends and when she shows an interest in a company, people sit up and take notice.

Vidya Chhabria (Rank 44), 54, a new entrant to the list and a homemaker until April this year, succeeded her late husband as head of the $2 billion Jumbo Group that employes 20,000 people in more than 20 countries. Jumbo has 28 companies with interests in consumer electronics, brewing, distilling, tyres, chemicals and equipment.

Referring to the honour she says "This honour really belongs to those who built the Jumbo Group brick-by-brick. I have no great personal achievements to my credit". But those who've known her say that she had always radiated that unmistakable glint of leadership.

Ms Chhabria is delighted to see Indian women prove their mettle although she thinks they can contribute much more if our society had permitted. Driven by narrow parochial agendas, Indian society does not allow our women to dream big.

On her vision for Jumbo, she says she would like "to see each company emerge a dominant player in its field of specialisation" and is focussed on making Jumbo the preferred workplace, whatever the industry and Shaw Wallace the number one alchoholic beverages company in India. And Manu Chhabria's vision of creating world-class products and services is plugged in the perception of Jumbo's workforce.

A survey of 500 women and 132 men in 20 countries by the Conference Board and Catalyst suggests that the spread of female corporate power is uneven. There are cultural, social and logistical issues too. Keeping women out of business, limits the pool of talent. This is the case in Japan and Korea. It is easy to find ethnic Chinese and British women in influential positions but harder to find German or Korean women. Hong Kong and Singapore feature more women on their list than Japan which is 12 times bigger. In Germany, younger women are not easily promoted for fear that they will avail of maternity leave that can legally extend to 3 years! French women place more importance on developing their total lives rather than their careers. Italy's economy comprises middle and small-sized companies - so 'being a big fish in a small pond is not enough to make the FORTUNE 50', says Carla Cico, head of Brasil Telecom.

Earlier on, Global Business Magazine had named two Indian women on their list of 50 - Naina Lal Kidwai, India's most important investment banker and Indira Nooyi, senior vice-president and chief financial officer at PepsiCo.

Women believe stereotyping is the biggest roadblock to advancement in business in Europe. Another barrier is the dearth of senior executive women for younger women to look up to.

Source: FORTUNE 500

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