Raising the bar

SHEILA Patel began wearing the pants way before she became the chief executive of the international segment of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM). It began in the early 1990s, when she was a junior investment banking analyst preparing for the initial public offering (IPO) of women's apparel chain, Ann Taylor. The chain was a Wall Street darling, having become a household name by selling clothes to career women. Sally Frame Kasaks, the retail veteran, then in charge of the firm, had insisted that all the bankers who went on roadshows wear Ann Taylor clothes.

"That meant wearing pants. Because pant suits for women were one of the items that Ann Taylor sold," she said.

At that time, Wall Street was a traditional place where women wore dresses or skirts. But if women started wearing pants at roadshows, they might wear them in the office after that. Senior management at Merrill Lynch, the investment bank where Ms Patel worked, had to agree on the new dress code.