The Sohals' company Orbit International was founded in 1971 with just three sewing machines but their persistence through adversity, which included a recession, has given them a solid platform for their three sons when the business is passed on to them. The Passis' fortune is just as solid and is based on two companies, Golden Dollar Clothing and GD Yarns. They have made great progress in recent years, and this is the couple's first appearance in the top 200. As the country gets richer, it's only right that they should get a share of the action. They tend to be more compassionate and understanding than men and this makes the employees as dedicated as their employers.
Pockets of resistance remain to the progress of women.
Of all the women to feature in the list, only one has inherited her company from her father. The company makes car care products and insecticides and she comes in at 114th place with 9 million. This slow but steady progress of Asian women mirrors the attitudes of an increasingly politically correct Britain, where there has been pressure to disregard the sex of any achiever, or even refer to gender in job titles.