HANOI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Women are currently holding 36 percent of senior management positions in Vietnamese businesses, posting the second highest ratio in Asia after the Philippines with nearly 37.5 percent, the latest report by international consulting firm Grant Thornton has revealed.

Some 29 percent of senior management roles globally are now held by women, compared with 28 percent in Southeast Asia, local online newspaper VnExpress cited Grant Thornton's "Women in Business 2019" report as reporting on Friday.

In Vietnam, the top positions usually occupied by women include financial director, executive director, human resources director and marketing director, according to the report.

Vietnam is among the top 25 countries in the world closing the gender gap in the labor force, said the World Economic Forum.

There are around 145,000 small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) currently run by women in the country, accounting for a quarter of all SMEs nationwide, Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday.

Vietnam is targeting to have 1 million enterprises by 2020, of which more than a third will be owned by women, according to the country's development plan.