There's growing clamor in the U.S. for more women in corporate board rooms and greater support for working mothers. But the situation is often strained in developing countries, showing there's a long way to go before the gender gap is closed.

Tupperware CEO Rick Goings said Friday that the problem begins at top, with politicians and business leaders who fail to promote gender equality.

"It's a benevolent sexism," Goings told The Huffington Post's Jo Confino at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Men's attitude toward women can turn into, "I'm going to take care of her, because she's not that smart and she's frail," Goings added. "That's kind of pervasive, particularly a lot of the emerging markets."

To create change, a message of equality must be clear, Goings said.

"You start out with changing the mindset," Goings said. "Next you try to educate them."