Are you holding senior management positions?

The poll, conducted by Grant Thornton, an accounting¹ firm based in Hong Kong, covered 32 economies.

Hong Kong and Taiwan also rank high on the list, with 83 percent and 80 percent of their firms having women in senior positions.

In the Philippines, 97 percent companies have women holding senior positions.

"The findings suggest that China businesses focus on capability² and performance when appointing senior management, and not on gender³," said Alison Wong, partner of specialist advisory⁴ services at Grant Thornton.

On average 65 percent of the companies in the world have women in senior management positions, the survey shows. China is ahead of many Western countries, including the US, Canada and Britain.

"Despite some people's perception about traditional gender bias⁵ in Chinese society, it is positive to note that today three places across two shores achieve such a high proportion of business with senior females," Wong said.

Almost all Asian countries have more businesses with women at senior levels than the global average, except Japan, whose rate is only 25 percent.

"Obviously Japan is unique in the cultural perception about women in business and women's role in the family as compared with other parts of Asia, " Wong said.

The survey reflects an upward trend in the percentage of women in management roles in most economies, but only the Philippines has achieved true parity⁶ in male/female management.