New Delhi, Mar 11 (IANS): At least 36 per cent of senior management positions are now being held by women in India's mid-market businesses, a report has revealed.

With 36 per cent of women in leadership roles, India is ahead of the BRICS (34 per cent) and G7 (30 per cent) averages.

"Sadly, 5 per cent of mid-market businesses in India still don't have any women in senior leadership roles," according to Grant Thornton's International Business Report.

Globally, 32 per cent of senior management positions are now held by women in mid-market businesses.

Alarmingly, 9 per cent of such businesses still have no women in senior leadership roles globally.

"To push for better parity, businesses must adopt a hybrid or flexible approach, create a supportive and understanding culture, and focus on employee well-being and mentoring programmes that support women," said Pallavi Bakhru, Partner, Grant Thornton Bharat.

Working towards improving diversity, especially at senior levels, is not only the responsible thing to do but also the right thing to do commercially.

"It is a proven driver of performance," she added.

All regions (Africa, APAC, ASEAN, Latin America, North America, EU) surpassed the 30 per cent figure for women in senior management for the first time.

The ASEAN region experienced the most significant percentage point rise among the regions, increasing from 37 per cent to reach 40 per cent mark.

Globally, 36 per cent of mid-market businesses are now working purely office-based, and 53 per cent have a hybrid approach.

In India, 62 per cent of such businesses are adopting a hybrid model, 27 per cent are still primarily office based, 5 per cent of staff is permanently home-based and 5 per cent have a fully flexible schedule and choice to choose where to work from, the report noted.