Even as Asia, including India, has a higher proportion of entrepreneurs compared to the rest of the world, the number of women business owners is much below the global average, says a recent research report from Barclays Wealth and Investment Management.

"The number of female business owners in Asia is still trailing levels seen amongst their male counterparts and below the global average," the report says.

This, it says, is despite Asia having a higher proportion of entrepreneurs (47%) compared to the US (29%) and Europe (30%).

This new report finds that 39% of high net worth (HNW) women in Asia classify themselves as business owners, which is far below the 50% of high net worth men in Asia. Globally, 44% of HNW women and 49% of HNW men classify themselves as business owners.

It shows the gender pay gap is wider for non-entrepreneurs compared to entrepreneurs. Non-entrepreneur women earn much more than non-entrepreneur men, while male entrepreneurs make a little more than female counterparts.