techinasia.com - The country ranks as the ninth most gender-equal nation in the world, according to the 2014 Global Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum.

The recent MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women’s Advancement also showed that the Philippines is one of only two countries in Asia Pacific with more than 50 female business and government leaders and business owners for every 100 of their male counterparts. The other is New Zealand.

In most of the region, women lag behind men in securing leadership roles despite being better educated.

“Companies with more women in leadership outperform those who do not, so the male dominance of leadership roles should be concerning,” Georgette Tan, MasterCard spokeswoman for Asia Pacific, was quoted as saying in a Reuters report.

“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,” Tan added.