A leading Bahraini businesswoman has questioned the findings of an international report that ranks Bahrain 124th out of 142 countries in terms of gender equality.

The World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index 2014 ranks countries based on gender equality in salaries, education and the number of senior government positions occupied by women, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

It found Bahraini women out-performed men in terms of education, both tertiary and secondary, but that women earned less and held far fewer positions of power.

The UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, which was highest in the GCC at 113, were all ranked higher than Bahrain, which was itself ahead of other countries in the region such as Oman, Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen, which finished last.

The report claims there were twice as many men working in Bahrain than women and that there were far fewer women in parliament and senior ministerial positions.

Bahrain Businesswomen's Society (BBS) president Ahlam Janahi said she was surprised by the findings, given the advancement of women in Bahrain over the past 10 years.

"This figure seems wrong," she said.

"There is no way Bahrain is 124th - especially with the initiatives of His Majesty King Hamad in the past 10 years to raise the profile of women in the country in line with Vision 2030.

"We believe that Bahrain, especially the leaders are open to women in all positions and that the opportunity has been given for women to get to senior positions.

"According to the Economic Development Board reports, the number of women in the workforce has increased tremendously in the past 10 years and salaries for the same positions are very similar. I don't know where they are getting these figures from."

She agreed that not enough women were represented in parliament or senior government posts, but hoped that would change following elections on November 22.

"We don't have enough women in parliament and in high positions in the ministries, but that looks like it may soon change with the upcoming election," said Janahi.

"We have a large number of women running this time and this is a good sign of progress - hopefully after the elections that number will be higher.

"It is a goal of the BBS to see more women in positions of power and in the past few years we are seeing a number of women starting businesses and putting themselves out there for these higher positions.

"The right women should be highlighted and highlight themselves for these legislative and government positions, but there is a problem.

”Many women, a minority of women, are shy or don't want to highlight themselves because of local traditions - even if they are qualified and responsible - but this is changing.

"The people in power now are very supportive of women in the workplace and actually are very encouraging, but the initiative has to come from them (women).

"They have to highlight themselves and it would be good to see more encouragement of women from society as a whole." - TradeArabia News Service