Nokia recently appointed Lalita Gupte, an Indian banker who had just retired from ICICI bank, one of the world's most innovative practitioners of bottom-of-the-pyramid finance.

ECONOMIST: The empire strikes back

Lalita Gupte and Kalpana Morparia (both were the only businesswomen in India who made our list of the World's Most Powerful Women), run India's second-largest bank, ICICI Bank.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Lalita Gupte and Kalpana Morparia (both were the only businesswomen in India who made our list of the World's Most Powerful Women), run India's second-largest bank, ICICI Bank (nyse: IBN - news - people ).

FORBES: India's Most Powerful Businesswomen

However, in the last 30 years, a handful of businesswomen in India, including Lalita Gupte, Kalpana Morparia, Anu Aga, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Simone Tata, have quietly broken through the barriers of social conformity--both at home and in the workplace--to become successful entrepreneurs and professionals.

FORBES: Magazine Article