Sarah Todd

Pat Callahan received high marks for her handling of the Wachovia acquisition — the largest in banking history — but it was her influence on Wells Fargo's diversity policies and sustainability practices that stand as perhaps the greatest achievement of her 38-year career.

Empowering women to become more financially independent has been a hallmark of Lori Chillingworth's career as a small-business banker. Now she's on an even bigger mission: to help more women in Utah gain seats on corporate boards and compete for political office.

Big Banks Take on Gender Gap; Debating Good Governance

EMV Transition; Does PE Rush Foreclosures?

New Probe; Regulating Bitcoin; Mortgage Deal Violations?

Cathy Bessant, who has a new C-suite title at Bank of America, builds confidence by taking on challenges that scare her. She also takes on technological decluttering and gender equality.

Through weeklong mentoring trips to locales like Brazil, Haiti and Somalia, senior female executives at B of A are teaching other women the finer points of running a small business.

Whether it's raising money to build schools in Africa or creating programs internally to help advance the careers of women, the dozen women's networks at U.S. Bancorp strive to make a real difference in women's lives.

A formal mentoring program Zions started in 2009 has helped to advance the careers of hundreds of women — and some men — inside the bank. Now Zions' top women leaders are sharing what they've learned with other firms in hopes of preventing women from leaving the workforce.

Our top woman in finance for the third straight year, Mary Callahan Erdoes, is overseeing record growth at JPMorgan Chase's asset-management arm.