THE Philippines ranks first out of 58 economies on women advancement in the workforce, results of the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs.
The “Women’s Advancement Outcomes” portion of the survey showed the Philippines stood out in terms of women’s ability to thrive as business leaders, professional and technical workers, entrepreneurs, and labor force participants.
Three other markets in Asia Pacific joined the Philippines in the top 10 ranks: Thailand (4), Vietnam (7) and New Zealand (10).
The index also highlighted that Filipino women are fairly represented in the workforce, with 52 percent of business leaders and 58.2 percent of professional workers being female.
Filipino women were also found to be just as likely as their male counterparts to go into entrepreneurship.
Among all 58 countries evaluated, the Philippines at rank 20 lagged behind a mix of high income, upper middle income and similar lower middle-income markets across different regions including nine other markets from Asia Pacific.
The index noted that in the country, financial support rendered for small and medium enterprises is quite weak. This is indicated by gender gap in access to financial services, perception on physical infrastructure, and accessibility, range and effectiveness of government programs.
Still, the Philippines was noted for being one of the markets with the least gender divide when it comes to borrowing or saving for business.
The Philippines also stood out as a promising market showing that women in less wealthy and developed economies can still thrive in entrepreneurial businesses.
