By Charlotte Cooper
MUMBAI (Reuters) - When Manisha Girotra started her career in investment banking in India 17 or so years ago, the businessmen she met wouldn't shake her hand.
Traditionally, etiquette meant Indian men would greet a woman with words rather than offering their hand.
"They would all say 'Namaste' to me and look like 'What are we supposed to do with this one who has walked in?'," she laughs.
Now managing director and chairperson for Swiss bank UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in India, Girotra is by no means alone at the top of India's banking tree.
Private sector ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has a woman joint managing director and chief financial officer, Chanda Kochhar, HSBC's (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) country head is Naina Lal Kidwai, and Vedika Bhandarkar runs investment banking for JP Morgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) also recently appointed a new - female - India investment banking head.
HSBC's Kidwai says about 40 percent of her upper-middle management are women.
"This isn't about numbers, it's about real quality high-ranking individuals driving business," she told Reuters India Investment Summit this week. Continued...
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