The importance of gender equality in academic leadership has been widely recognised, yet this issue has been underexplored outside the Anglo-Saxon countries. In this systematic review, we analysed 62 academic articles on women's academic leadership in Bangladesh (15), China (17) and Finland (30), published between 2000 and 2021. Our study revealed that research on gender-related academic leadership is still underdeveloped across the three countries, particularly in Bangladesh. Most studies have focussed on the barriers that hinder women from attaining academic leaders' roles. Our review results highlight the role of societal and cultural factors that contribute to the differences in the levels of gender equality in university leadership across the three countries. However, the men-dominated structure and culture in higher education pose the major obstacle for women in reaching leaders' positions in all three countries.