Thailand has been ranked third globally for its proportion of senior positions held by women - 38%, compared with an average of 24% - in a Grant Thornton International study. The highest percentage of women in senior management is 47% in the Philippines and the lowest is 7% in Japan. The percentage of women in top posts is up globally from 19% in 2004, but 34% of private businesses have no women in senior management.

A similar trend was apparent in the annual MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women's Advancement. This study of the development of women in their career path ranked Thailand second in the Asia Pacific, with an index score of 91.5, up from 78.4 in 2008.

The improvement reflects more women than last year reporting themselves to be in managerial positions and earning above median income.

Australia had the highest index of 96.1, while the pan-regional index score across 14 markets edged up from 71.6 in 2008 to 72.4 in 2009.

Thailand also had the highest percentage of women in Asia Pacific who saw themselves as making financial decisions for their households, with 77.8% of the women surveyed saying so.