Although women in Asia Pacific are increasingly more educated than their male counterparts, progress towards gender parity is still sluggish – especially in the areas of business leadership, business ownership and political participation, according to MasterCard’s latest Index of Women’s Advancement.
Out of the 16 Asia Pacific markets surveyed, women in 10 markets outnumber men in tertiary education gross enrolment rate. While there is a strong correlation between tertiary education and business leadership in markets such as the Philippines, New Zealand and Thailand, women in the majority of markets across Asia Pacific are lagging behind in business leadership despite their educational qualifications. The Philippines continues to have the highest ratio of female-to-male business leaders for the ninth consecutive year.
Georgette Tan, Group Head Communications—Asia Pacific, MasterCard commented, “Study after study shows how public and private sector companies—and their bottom lines—benefit from having more women in leadership. In fact, companies with more women in leadership outperform those who do not, so the male dominance of leadership roles should be concerning. In a highly competitive global market, companies are beginning to understand why integrating talented women into leadership structures is imperative for sustainable economic growth and innovation in both developed and developing markets.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
