These impressive levels of aspiration are no accident. The fast-evolving nature of the emerging market economies amplifies a sense of possibility and optimism. You only have to open your eyes and look around to see the proof that dreams can become concrete reality, says Alpna Khera, a senior commercial leader running a $30MM P&L at GE's transportation division in India. “People have created fortunes in this market, and it is encouraging to know that one can create opportunities for oneself and achieve great things,” she says. Her own career trajectory is defined by an unambiguous desire for continued advancement within leadership ranks. Khera was the first woman in India to work in a gas-based power plant—at a time when there was no separate women's washroom—and aspires to eventually be the head of GE Energy in India.

      Many of the women we spoke to were keenly aware of their role and participation at a significant point in the history of their countries, in essence being part of a huge national development project. The adrenaline rush of being front and center in a tremendous transition fuels ambition in a big way. “In Europe, you would work on refining a company's business strategy. Here, you have the opportunity to be involved in high-impact projects that are reshaping countries and the region as a whole,” explains Leila Hoteit, an Abu Dhabi-based principal at Booz & Company working with public sector entities.

      Part of what propels the extraordinary ambition of women in emerging markets is a seismic shift in their family roles and social status. The regions' rapid economic growth has transformed gender roles in a way that the West tends to underestimate, not only by encouraging female participation in the workforce but also by enabling women to move into management positions in impressive numbers. They can aspire to high-flying careers because of another startling change on the home front: on average, women in BRIC countries have fewer than three children, and in China and Russia fewer than two—a huge decline from past generations.¹⁰ (We discuss the details of this metamorphosis in the chapters focusing on specific countries.)

      As women move into management positions, a startling number are earning salaries equal to or greater than their spouses. In Brazil, China, Russia, and the UAE, we found that nearly 20 percent or more of women working full time outearn their spouses. The power of the purse, even more than educational opportunities and career aspirations, is helping women break through the social traditions that held back many in their mothers' generation. After all, a mother-in-law is less likely to expect her son's wife to wait on her hand and foot when she's bringing home a big share of the family income.

      With living costs escalating in emerging markets, especially in urban areas, women's contribution to household expenses is not only appreciated but also indispensable. Six of the thirty most expensive cities in the world are in Russia, China, and Brazil.¹¹ “Women have to work because the cost of living in Moscow and St. Petersburg is very expensive,” says Veronika Bienert, a senior executive at Siemens Russia. Similarly, a Beijing-based HR manager notes, “In China today, there is no way that only the husband can work and the wife stay home, because you need the income on both sides.”

      With financial need trumping cultural pressure, the majority of women in our sample do not experience social pressure to quit work after they marry or even upon the birth of their first child, with the exception of India, where traditional social norms adhere far more closely than elsewhere. Yet even there, change is imminent. One Indian executive explained that her entire family supported the choices she has made as a working mother: “My husband says, ‘There's no way you are leaving your job. You're too driven, you're well qualified, and you have ambition.’ My mother wanted to study and couldn't, so she pushed me to achieve things she was not able to. I would never consider leaving my job” for fear of disappointing her.

      AN ENVIABLE WORK ETHIC

      “I'm definitely happy being with GE,” says Heather Wang, vice-president of human resources of GE Global Growth & Operations, even though her job requires a crushing travel schedule. In one recent month, she circumnavigated the globe, spending two days at GE headquarters in Connecticut, flying back to her office in Brussels, visiting France, Germany, and London, and then heading off to Poland, Dubai, and China, where her husband and young daughter live. Despite the constant jet lag, she wouldn't have it any other way. “I feel inspired by helping people become successful. That's more important to me than my personal life.”

      The rich reservoir of ambition among educated women in the BRIC countries and the UAE represents a huge opportunity for employers, particularly because it is reinforced by an extraordinary degree of commitment and loyalty that these women bring to work.

      Top talent in emerging markets has a reputation for being notoriously mercurial and hard to hold on to. A Towers Perrin survey found a mere 21 percent of global workers to be engaged in their work.¹² Turnover rates are high, with one-fifth of companies in developing countries reporting that they have to replace half their staff annually.¹³ In Russia, recent university graduates with fluency in a couple of languages and a few years' experience at a multinational corporation “are constantly being pitched by headhunters, so people jump every few months for a minor raise in salary,” reports Alexandra Shaforost, a management consultant advising foreign companies in Russia. India's business process outsourcing industry is particularly infamous for its churn. Before the financial crisis, software engineers employed by Wipro, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, and other Bangalore outsourcers were switching jobs as often as three times a year to boost their pay and scale up the management ladder, according to a recent article in Bloomberg Businessweek.¹⁴ Although turnover rates froze during the recession, robust first-quarter 2010 results sent the industry's revolving door spinning furiously, with Wipro losing 17 percent of its employees, Infosys 19 percent, and HCL Technologies 22 percent in the January–March period.¹⁵

      By contrast, our data on highly qualified women in the BRIC countries and the UAE counters the image of capricious job-hoppers, always on the lookout for a higher salary and willing to exploit the paucity of qualified talent to get it. Our analysis—which delves into actual intentions and career goals—reveals a surprisingly strong sense of commitment among women toward their employers. Nearly 90 percent express loyalty to their current employer, with 49 percent declaring a desire to continue working at their current company for three years or longer.

      Furthermore, more than 80 percent of our respondents in Brazil, Russia, India, and the UAE report loving their work, and a similarly high percentage in Russia, India, and the UAE are “willing to go the extra mile” for their companies. Well-qualified BRIC and UAE women express a deep connection with and passion for their jobs, citing intellectual stimulation, a sense of personal