JAMAICA is the best place for women seeking high-skilled jobs, according to a popular British newspaper.

The Independent on Sunday’s global survey to mark International Women’s Day revealed that “Jamaica has the highest ratio of women in high-skilled jobs, such as legislators, senior officials and managers”.

According to the investigation, almost 60 per cent of these roles in Jamaica are filled by women.

It is unclear how exactly the survey was consucted. An e-mail message from the Business Observer to a news editor at the London-based newspaper company was unanswered at press time.

In an editorial leading up to rankings in 20 different categories, the reporter said that The Independent on Sunday had explored “the best places to be a woman today” in time for the 101st International Women’s Day.

But Dorothea Gordon-Smith, the past president of Women Business Owners Jamaica, expressed surprise over the survey results and doubt that women are adequately represented in high-skilled positions.

“I am a little bit surprised, but gladly so,” Gordon-Smith said yesterday. “I know there are more qualified Jamaican women than men, but does that mean they are being preferred to males (in high-skilled jobs)? I can’t answer that question.”

Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica statistics reportedly indicate that although Jamaican women graduate from tertiary institutions at higher rates than men, they are twice as likely to be unemployed and employed in low-paying sectors.

According to The Independent on Sunday survey, the UK is ranked 35th in the category of women in high-skilled jobs. Yemen was ranked at the bottom, with women there taking up only two per cent of high-skilled jobs.