Japan ranked the third worst place among developed nations for working women for the second year in a row, according to the 2024 index compiled by British magazine The Economist released to mark International Women's Day on Saturday.

Based on the glass-ceiling index, which measures the role and influence of women in the workforce in 29 of the 38 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Japan was at 27th place, followed by South Korea and Turkey.

Sweden took the top spot, with Iceland, Finland and Norway behind, according to the annual survey.

Looking at the working conditions of women based on 10 metrics from education and the gender gap pay to paid parental leave and political representation, the Nordic countries were high in the ranking thanks to their gender-equal policies and measures to support working parents.

New Zealand was the "most improved country," rising eight places to fifth alongside France and Portugal. Britain and Canada came in 14th and Italy at 16th, while the United States ranked 19th.

The survey found that the overall representation of women on company boards rose to 33 percent from 21 percent in 2016, with men and women in Britain, France and New Zealand nearly at parity in terms of company board positions held.

Despite a positive trend in education, labor participation remained low for women, affecting career progression and the gender pay gap, according to the survey. Median wages for women were 11.4 percent lower than those for men, with the gap growing wider for countries such as Japan and Australia.

The survey said the rate of female representation in politics topped 34 percent overall, with Britain seeing women's share of seats in parliament up from 35 percent to 41 percent following last year's general election.

As for Japan, just 16 percent of its lawmakers are women, but that "is a record high for the country," the survey noted.

On paid parental leave, Japan and South Korea "have the most generous paternity-leave policies in the OECD," except "few new fathers choose to stay at home."