China Tops World in Percentage of Female CFOs, Study Finds

Twenty-two percent of CFOs in China were female, the highest percentage of any country, a Credit Suisse survey found.

The survey, released Monday, had mixed signals on the country's gender diversity in boardrooms and senior management, with China lagging on the former but doing well in the latter.

"Equal access to education under communist rule in China has helped to build skill sets more equitably (among men and women) compared to other emerging markets while the number of female political leaders across the region has also provided role models and served to break down stereotypes," said the report, titled 2016 CS Gender 3000.

The percentage of women in China's board positions remains low at 9.2 percent, compared with the global average of 14.7 percent. But China fared much better in terms of senior management, ranking 10th among the 35 countries studied, with women comprising 17.2 percent of senior management nationally compared with the 14.1 percent global average.

The report also found that gender diversity in the boardroom was a good indicator of higher returns in share prices.