Banking may be more of a meritocracy than other professions, women in the business say, because there is an easy way to keep score: Look at the bottom line.

银行业的女性们说道：银行业比起其它职业来说可能更加“精英化”，因为有一个得分的捷径：着眼于底线。

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Pictured: The most powerful women in banking.

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Vinnicombe adds that she has found anecdotal evidence that a number of senior women in the British banking sector have chosen to leave their jobs, rather than work in a "high pressure, highly controlling" work environment brought about by the economic crisis.

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Are those women who thrive in banking well enough to get to the board more risk loving than others?

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