[Work Revolution] Barriers to Women’s Advancement in Bio and Health Must Be Removed

Changes in Jobs Tailored for the COVID Era
Increased Need for Education and Medical Care Workers

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[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Hyunjung Kim] The untact digital era triggered by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is showing a rapidly widening polarization. Temporary workers and service industry employees engaged in face-to-face tasks, such as retail sales clerks and restaurant staff, have been severely impacted, whereas those who can perform their work using IT have experienced relatively improved lives due to reduced commuting costs and fewer unnecessary meetings while working from home. Experts suggest that as we enter the post-COVID era, the government should provide support to prevent further widening of disparities and establish guarantee systems suited to new forms of labor.

Professor Jungwoo Koo of the Department of Sociology at Sungkyunkwan University pointed out, "People in the relatively lower and middle economic strata are more affected, especially young women and the 40s and 50s age groups face very negative employment prospects. Small business owners also have no room to worry," adding, "On the other hand, the stock market is booming, so if one is relatively well-off, the economic situation can improve." Professor Koo also said, "In education, private universities or prestigious universities with well-established systems will further strengthen high-quality online courses," and added, "In an untact society, the elderly become isolated and fundamentally have nowhere to rely on."

If the situation continues as is, it is expected that women's jobs will significantly decrease, further widening the gender wage gap. Taetae Jeon, Director of the Women's Labor Research Center at the Korean Women's Development Institute, said, "International recommendations emphasize that women's representation must be considered to ensure women can enter various occupations and levels across all industries," and added, "The government should not leave it solely to the market but remove structural barriers so that highly skilled women can enter research and development (R&D) fields such as bio and health."

As telecommuting becomes more widespread, labor-related measures suited to this change are also necessary. Professor Suhan Kim of the Department of Sociology at Korea University stated, "Experiencing autonomy over time and space is a tremendous change," and argued, "Since workplaces are likely to impose more control than before, urgent measures are needed." Professor Kim emphasized, "We must recognize that work can no longer be done in the old ways," and said, "For example, if rules clearly defining work hours per day are not established, the right to rest could be threatened."

Researcher Jaemin Sung of the Korea Labor Institute predicted that while technology will partially replace jobs, jobs where humans and technology complement each other will also emerge. Researcher Sung said, "At first, one might think it is a crisis as technology replaces jobs, but it is necessary to approach this from a broader perspective," and forecasted, "After COVID-19, due to personalized care issues, sectors like education and healthcare may need to hire more personnel."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.