Few women hold top positions in corporate houses worldwide, but the situation is even worse in India, as a mere 9% of senior management level positions in the country are occupied by the fairer sex, a survey has found.
Globally, 20% of senior management positions are held by women, down from 24% in 2009, as per the latest finding of Grant Thornton's International Business Report.
What is more, about 38% of businesses worldwide have no women at the senior management level.
The situation is, however, better in the Asian continent, as women representation is comparatively higher in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and China, at 30-45%.
However, women's presence in top corporate positions is below 10% in India, Japan and UAE.
"At some point in time, every women needs to strike a balance between her personal and professional life, if not make a choice between the two, and most Indian women tend to opt for family over career," Karishma Phatarphekar, a Partner at Grant Thornton India, said.
She further said, "Another reason could be that culturally, the majority of India still operates in a joint family set-up, thereby giving lesser flexibility and independence for the women to give way to their career aspirations."
Thailand (45%) boasts the highest percentage of women at the senior management level across the world, followed by Georgia (40%), Russia (36%), Hong Kong and the Philippines (both 35%).
Interestingly, G7 countries lag behind the global average, with only 16% of women holding senior roles, whilst regionally, the Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) scores highest with 27%.
In countries like Thailand, Hong Kong, Greece, Belgium and Botswana, women have become most successful in increasing their share of senior management roles by at least 7% since 2009.
Of the companies that employ women in senior managerial positions globally, 22% employ them in financial positions such as Chief Financial Officer and Finance Director. This is followed by Human Resource Director (20%), Chief Marketing Officer and Sales Director (both 9%).
Globally, just 8% of companies with women in senior managerial positions have a female Chief Executive Officer (CEO). However, the story is different in Asian economies. Thailand leads the way with 30% of companies employing female CEOs, followed by mainland China (19%), Taiwan (18%) and Vietnam (16%).
