MANILA - The Philippines has the highest representation of women in leadership positions in the Asia Pacific region, according to a study by career social networking platform LinkedIn.

However, LinkedIn also pointed out that women in the Philippines were still not getting promoted into leadership positions as frequently as men.

LinkedIn said that among the countries studied in the APAC region, the Philippines 41 percent of leadership positions were held by women, followed by Singapore at 39 percent, New Zealand at 33 percent, Australia at 32 percent and India at 18 percent.

But men in the Philippines are also 26 percent more likely to be promoted into leadership positions than women, LinkedIn said.

“This statistic is more pronounced in other APAC countries like Singapore and India (42%),” the company said.

Globally, only 27 percent of women are at the Vice President (VP) level, and 25 percent at the C-Suite (CXO) level – two of the highest seniority levels in the workforce.

The Philippines however is doing better in terms of women’s representation compared to the rest of the world.

“In the Philippines, there are 40 percent at the VP level, and 32 percent at the CXO level, higher than the global average,” LinkedIn said.

Feon Ang, Managing Director, APAC, LinkedIn said, the data shows that women face more barriers in the workplace compared to men. They are underrepresented in leadership and are not being promoted into leadership roles at the same rate as men.

“We need to do more to ensure that women in the workforce have equal access to opportunities. Organizations and business leaders should look at solutions like internal mobility, fair hiring practices with a focus on skills and flexibility. This will ensure that women are equal contributors at all levels in an organization,” Ang said.

LinkedIn said its study was published in the World Economic Forum’s 2022 Global Gender Gap Report.

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