Russia tops women management study
By Nick Easen for CNN
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More women in top roles could fuel the bottom line, says one study.
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(CNN) -- Women in Russia have the best chance of reaching the upper echelons of the business world, according to a new survey.
The study revealed that women occupied senior management roles in 89 percent of Russian companies.
The Philippines were second with 85 percent and the United States third with 75 percent.
Many in business argue that the position of women in the workplace has taken a quantum leap forward in recent decades.
But the new study, conducted by business advisory firm Grant Thornton, revealed that most countries still have a long way to go towards equality and described senior management as "still a male preserve."
Worst performers on the list of 26 major economies were the Netherlands and Pakistan, where only 27 percent of corporations employed women in the top corporate ranks.
Asia-Pacific countries rated well, but the exception was Japan, where only 29 percent of companies had women in senior management.
The poll of 6,900 medium-sized businesses was conducted in September and October last year.
Cultural differences
"Analyzing the results requires a certain amount of caution due to cultural differences," said Kevin O'Shaughnessy from Grant Thornton.
"Women's rights, religious constraints and economic ones such as childcare costs, are all key factors which help determine the levels of representation by women in senior management."
Yet even in Russia, women still fill well under half -- 42 percent -- of all senior positions. Japan figured last in this category with eight percent.
And despite 75 percent of U.S. firms employing women at a senior level, women held a mere 20 percent of total senior jobs.
But having women in top positions could also be a smart move financially.
A recent study by Catalyst, a New York research group, looked at the relationship between corporate performance and the number of women in top management in 353 companies listed consistently on the Fortune 500 list.
Catalyst found that companies with more women in senior positions financially outperformed those with proportionally less.
In fact firms with the highest number of women in senior management had a 35 percent higher return on equity and a 34 percent higher return to shareholders than those with the least.
