Twenty years ago, when The Devil Wears Prada was released, women in top positions of power were relatively rare. The number has inched up, but not by much.

From bestselling novel to iconic film

Based on Lauren Weisberger's bestselling novel, inspired by her own experiences of working with Vogue's formidable editor Anna Wintour (though the producers of the film denied it), the book and film are about an aspiring journalist, Andy Sachs, who takes up an entry-level job as the second assistant to Miranda Priestly, the editor of the fictional fashion magazine Runway.

Difficult, demanding and imperious, in her own words, Miranda has the kind of clout that makes or breaks designers. In the office, she treats everybody like her slaves. She strides in, dressed in designer outfits, and flings her coat and bag on the assistant's table, expecting the already quivering woman (Emily Blunt in the first film) to hang them up.

The assistants have to fetch her coffee and lunch, deliver her dry cleaning and cater to her every whim.

Miranda Priestly’s intimidating workplace presence

At edit meetings, she shoots down ideas with withering comments. Either by temperament or design, because bad-tempered women are dismissed as hysterical, her put-downs are little more than a whisper.

As Andy observes, "She is not happy unless everyone around her is panicked, nauseous or suicidal."

Two decades later, the sequel has come out, capturing the times when the power and reach of print media are eroding under the onslaught of digital alternatives. Miranda........

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