Vietnam has the highest percentage of 43 percent of female CFA members while the Chinese mainland was ranked fourth with 31.3 percent of women CFA members. The number is only 16.4 percent in the U.S..
"In China, we have seen more women moving up the ranks in the investment management industry," said Jia Lijun, head of the CFA Institute's China branch, noting that there will be more opportunities for women as China's financial industry matures and continues to develop.
"As a veteran with more than 30 years in the financial services industry, I am absolutely positive that leading investment firms in China are starting to actively seek a wide range of perspectives and are gradually realizing that diversity in decision-making is good for clients, teams and business," he said.
The rise of information technology and the boom in the financial technology (fintech) sector in China have also contributed to higher female representation in the finance industry.
"The internet has become a main driver of growth and there is a shortage of good talent. This has created more opportunities for women to move forward in their careers, not because they are women but because they are good managers," Pan Jing, chief marketing officer of the Chinese online financing firm Dianrong.com, was quoted as saying in the survey by Oliver Wyman.
Despite the encouraging trend in Asia, empirical evidence and industry research still point to the trend that woman are scarce in the financial services industry on a global basis and are underrepresented relative to other professions.
Globally, only 18 percent of CFA members are women, well below the percentage of female workers around the world, according to the research by the CFA Institute.
In the financial services industry, women occupied only 16 percent of positions at the executive committee level, the Wyman report showed.
Experts said that the fact that finance is a profession that disproportionately rewards those who work long and inflexible hours, could be a factor that discourages women from entering the industry. Family responsibilities and insufficient flexible working hours often lead to a mid-career conflict and a less attractive "career trade-off" for women than men, they said.
The image of the investment industry, which is often seen as a competitive, aggressive and harsh profession, has also affected its attractiveness as a destination for female graduates, some experts said.
Nonetheless, Fidelity International's Kwek said that it was reasonable to expect the industry to embrace greater gender diversity as her clients are becoming more diverse.
"As women control more financial assets and make more financial decisions about their investments, the expectation is also there for more women portfolio managers to manage their savings," she said.
