New Delhi, March 31 -- In what now seems like a blatant act of sexism, Bertie was allotted automobile, cigarette and alcohol companies in his first job as an investment analyst, while his lady colleague took charge of consumer staples and retailers. Bertie had to struggle through the labyrinth of liquor regulation that changed with every state, but his colleague quickly mastered the regulatory architecture of selling soaps. On top of that, he had to answer questions from his seniors about how many bottles of what alcohol should they bring back from Goa in order to maximise their personal return on company travel; something he was sure wasn't asked being about soaps or hair oil.

But the hard work seemed to have paid off when in a recent m...