Asian women face more barriers than Westerners in getting top jobs: Survey

Hong Kong, July 2 (ANI): Women in Asia face more barriers than those in the West in getting top corporate jobs, a survey has revealed.

The McKinsey and Co survey revealed a lower percentage of women are in the workforce in Asia.

It further said that India has one of the world's lowest female labour participation rates with only a third of women working.

The survey was carried out on 1,500 senior managers and research of 744 exchange-listed companies across the region reveal that increasing the number of women in high-level positions can improve companies' financial performance and countries' economic expansion.

"By having more women at the senior level, companies are helping to improve organizational health as well as financial performance," Wang Jin, a Shanghai-based principal at McKinsey and co-author of the report said. Currently, the percentage of women on corporate boards and executive committees in Asian countries severely lags behind the West.

Women accounted for only six percent of seats on corporate boards in the markets studied, compared with 17 percent in Europe and 15 percent in the U.S. In Asia, "there's a much stronger barrier in terms of the expectation that women have to (stay home) to take care of their families," Jin said.But how quickly Asia's women can climb the corporate ladder depends on when societies change their way of thinking. (ANI)