Women have made enormous ground in recent decades into the very heart of power. A prime example is Hillary Clinton who looks a good bet for the White House in 2009. Less in the public eye has been the march of women into top jobs on Wall Street. Here are just a few :

Sallie Krawcheck, Chairman of Global Wealth Management, Citigroup

Sallie Krawcheck is one of Wall Street’s survivors. She was moved from chief financial officer to her current wealth management role earlier in the year by then chairman Charles “Chuck” Prince, when many thought she was destined for the chop. She has kept her head down throughout the sub-prime fall-out, and appears strengthened as a result.

Rosemary Berkery, Vice-Chairman and General Counsel, Merrill Lynch

Has been with Merrill Lynch since 1983. Berkery rose up through Merrill’s legal department, and is now in charge of its legal and compliance functions, as well as overseeing global research.

Amy Woods Brinkley, Global Risk Management Executive, Bank of America

Woods Brinkley, in spite of her odd title, is part of Bank of America chief Ken Lewis’s eight-strong management team, and is in charge of the risk attached to the bank’s $1.5 trillion in assets. Given the focus on risk as a result of the sub-prime fall-out, her job is more important than ever.

Esta Stecher, Executive Vice-President, Goldman Sachs

Stecher, who is also the powerful bank’s general counsel, has run Goldman’s legal department since December 2000, having run its all-important tax division for six years prior to that. A loyal lieutenant of Goldman chief Lloyd Blankfein, her position within the bank makes her one of the most powerful women on the Street.

Abby Joseph Cohen, Chief US portfolio Strategist, Goldman Sachs

Although her role does not place her within the upper echelons of the Goldman management strata, she is one of the best known female economists. Famed for predicting the bull market of the early 1990s, she then failed to predict the dotcom crash, earning the nickname “Abby Joseph Blowin” for her continuous bullish predictions.

Meredith Whitney, Financial Services Analyst, CIBC World Markets

One of the rising female stars, Whitney was the only analyst to call Citigroup’s balance sheet into question, prompting a $369bn global stock market fall-out, and the resignation of Citi chief Charles “Chuck” Prince. It cannot be long before one of the bulge bracket banks snaps her up from her current Canadian employer, in the way that Deutsche Bank did with Prudential’s outspoken banking analyst Mike Mayo earlier this year.

Linda Chatman Thomsen, Director of Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission

One of the most feared women in town, Thomsen is SEC chairman Chris Cox’s rottweiler. The Harvard graduate has a stellar legal pedigree. In her current job since May 2005, she will play a key role in going after firms and individuals as part of the continuing sub-prime fall-out.

Information : Daily telegraph.

Sexual harassment is an issue that most large employers take seriously and have instituted strict sexual harassment policies as well as educational programs. But for women, sexual harassment may still be a problem in some workplaces. Part of the reason may be that women and men have different definitions of what sexual harassment is and what behavior constitutes sexual harassment.

A study at the University of Missouri found that men generally think that only someone in a position of power - a supervisor or manager - can sexually harass. They view sexual harassment between co-workers as “misunderstandings”.

But women view sexual harassment itself as a bid for power, regardless of the position of the harasser, says Debbie Dougherty, assistant professor of communication in the College of Arts and Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

“The fact that men and women were using the same word to describe different behaviors may contribute to the continued existence of sexual harassment,” she said. “So if a man thinks that sexual harassment only comes from a supervisor, he may feel free to make sexual comments to a female coworker. The female coworker is likely to see the sexual comments as a quest for power and label it as sexual harassment.”

Dougherty cites the study data as proof of the importance of sexual harassment training.

Power and Sexual Harassment: Men and Women See Things Differently

Despite the fact that more women are graduating college, joining the workforce and their earning power is at an all time high, the majority of women do not feel financially secure.

A new study done by Allianz Life called The Allianz Women, Money and Power Study identifies some major differences about men and women in their attitudes towards money. Only a small percentage of women wanted a man to take care of them but most women wanted more security in their financial positions, decisions and investments.

Read an overview of the study:

Allianz Life

Over at our sister site, Brain Boomers, Ellen Weber is giving away the game Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day as a prize for winning the competition she is running. Give it a try - you just might win!