Special Program Root Tag

Some might see it as a weakness, but vulnerability is more of a strength, from Jill Castilla's perspective.

Jane Fraser is getting more fearless as times goes on. This realization – inspired by her (almost) golf date with Tiger Woods – is serving her well as she takes on a slew of new responsibilities at Citigroup.

• The 25 Women to Watch

KeyCorp's Beth Mooney tops the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking list; the 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance list is led by Mary Callahan Erdoes at JPMorgan Chase; and Jane Fraser at Citigroup heads the 25 Women to Watch list.

We all say things can be better. These women act.

• FirstMerit's Sandy Pierce: Standing up for Detroit
• Bank of America's Cathy Bessant: Paying It Forward
• M&T's Michele Trolli: Leading a Bear of a Digital Transformation
• Zions' LeeAnne Linderman: Starting a Charity from Scratch
• RBC's Lisa Pollina: Creating Jobs for Military Veterans
• NorthStar's Julie Goodridge: Fighting for Investors and Gay Marriage

Debby Hopkins' team brings fresh ideas to Citigroup by thinking and acting like tech entrepreneurs. Her Citi Ventures unit is an outlier in that its top four executives are women.

We recognize five banks where women are playing outsized roles in setting strategy and driving results, and each one has an interesting story to tell. Check out how the female executives at Bank of America, Bank of the West, BMO Harris, Citizens Bank of Edmond (Okla.) and Zions are making a difference.

• Bank of America
• BMO Harris Bank
• Bank of the West
• Zions First National Bank
• Citizens Bank of Edmond

Lisa Carnoy's career path at Bank of America is a perfect example of how the company is actively encouraging its female executives to take on new challenges.

BMO Harris Bank is on a mission to place more women in executive posts.

The quest for diversity in the senior ranks sometimes means competing for talent. Bank of the West has been winning its share of those competitions.

A sense of common purpose is evident in Zions' approach to employee relations, and it's drawing kudos from constituencies not typically known for a love of the industry.

The executives setting the strategy at Citizens Bank of Edmond have not only revived the once-troubled community bank, but are turning it into a model of success.

Janet Yellen's tenure as Fed chair could open more doors for women in the C-suite. It also sends a powerful message to younger generations: math and economics are cool.

If women’s progress in the industry is giving you a sense of 'two steps forward, one step back,' this group of extraordinary female role models offers comfort.

LeeAnne Linderman became an advocate for homeless military veterans almost by accident. After hearing that no local shelters could take female veterans with children, Linderman started her own charity called Veteran Mothers. The Zions First National Bank executive even got support from KISS and Def Leppard.

Sandy Pierce is a lifelong Detroit resident who has the chance to help her hometown in a way that few bankers ever get. The FirstMerit vice chairman leads the board overseeing the distressed city's turnaround plan.

Cathy Bessant says a cancer diagnosis a few years ago got her thinking about the legacy she hopes to create. So she accelerated her longtime plan to establish a scholarship for women in rural areas of Michigan, women with backgrounds just like hers. Bank of America’s global technology and operations executive aims to pay forward the help she received.

As the founder and CEO of NorthStar Asset Management, Julie Goodridge is pushing companies like PepsiCo to adopt more socially responsible policies. But her biggest impact has been on public policy: it is her lawsuit that led to gay marriage becoming legal in the United States for the first time.

Through her work with NATO, Lisa Pollina came to appreciate the skills and dedication of the men and women in the U.S. military. As the vice chairman of RBC Capital Markets, she is spearheading a program, called the RBC Veterans Initiative, to help transition them into jobs in the financial services industry.

As M&T Bank's chief information officer, Michele Trolli is leading an overhaul of its anti-money laundering systems. She also has a sideline in finding homes for orphaned polar bears.

See what the honorees think about the industry's gender divide and more.