When female banking executives discuss their path to the top, the word lucky is almost always mentioned. They were lucky that their experience was without gender discrimination or sexual harassment. They were lucky to have respectful mentors and to get to their positions without any apparent sexism in the way. “I certainly had a fortunate experience in that throughout my career I never felt discriminated against or put down just because of my gender,” said Bana Akkad Azhari, Lebanon country manager for The Bank of New York Mellon, speaking on the sidelines of the New Arab Woman Forum (NAWF) in Beirut on December 2. The ubiquitous gratitude at reaching heights in careers they are fully qualified for begs a discussion of why women working in the financial world feel that a career without gender-related bumps is a luxury, not an expectation. The numbers Of the six of Lebanon’s alpha
