The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women’s Advancement, a gender equality survey released yearly, revealed that the Philippines is one of the four best countries in the world for women workers.
The findings, which were released on Friday, February 27, ranked New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines and Singapore as the best countries for women workers; with female employees quickly becoming as active as male employees in the workplace.
However, the index also revealed that women still trail men in landing leadership positions in the business sectors in the Asia Pacific region. This, despite the fact that most women in this region are better educated than their male counterparts.
In 10 out of the 16 countries surveyed – including China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and there are more female university students than there are male university students.
“Companies with more women in leadership outperform those who do not, so the male dominance of leadership roles should be concerning. They 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,” Georgette Tan, MasterCard spokesperson for the Asia-Pacific region, explained.
Results of the index reveal that New Zealand and the Philippines are the only two countries with more than 50 women in business and government positions, including business ownership, for every 100 men in the same roles.
Thailand, on the other hand, showed the most significant progress in women taking roles business leadership roles.
Meanwhile, the three worst Asia-Pacific countries for women workers are India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The index, which started in 2007, measures gender equality, base on opportunities for employment, education and leadership. A total of 8,235 women responded to the survey.