Ana Botín has wasted little time since becoming chairman of Banco Santander in September, last week appointing a new chief executive. Like Abigail Johnson, installed as chief executive of Fidelity in October, she worked hard for her job, but it is inescapable that both are members of founding families. For women lacking a birthright, the route to the top in financial services is tough.

At the top 150 banks and financial services groups, just six chief executives are women; and only 13 per cent of the members of their executive committees are female. Although banks have tried to remedy some of the causes, men still rule the financial world.

When I was younger, I assumed that it would change. I was a child of the 1960s, a teenager of the 1970s and a graduate of the 1980s. My generation, even if it had prejudices and did not always fulfil its ideals, grew up amid feminism. Few argued publicly that men should be in charge of the workplace and that women should stay at home.