One in Five Local Department Heads Is Female... Senior Officials Account for 8.5%

Local Department Heads Surpass 20% for the First Time... Public Institution Female Executives at 22.1%
Jung Young-ae: "The Saying That It Will Naturally Increase Is the Same as 20 Years Ago"

On the 2nd, Jeong Young-ae, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, announced the three-year progress of the "Five-Year Plan to Enhance Women's Representation in the Public Sector" at the Seoul Government Complex.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] It has been reported that more than one in five local government department heads are women. However, the proportion of women among senior public officials remains below 10%.

On the 2nd, the government announced the three-year achievements of the 'Five-Year Plan to Enhance Women's Representation in the Public Sector,' stating that the targets in 12 areas were met for two consecutive years since 2019.

In particular, last year, the proportion of women among local government department heads (grade 5 and above) exceeded 20% for the first time. The proportion of female executives in public institutions reached 22.1%. Following the breakthrough of 20% female representation among central government headquarters department heads and public institution executives in 2019, the policy's success is spreading from the central government to local governments.

Jeong Young-ae, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, explained, "In the public service sector, we established a government-wide balanced personnel promotion plan and institutionalized the prohibition of gender discrimination during appointments to create a foundation for balanced personnel management. To expand the number of senior female public officials, we actively utilized various personnel measures such as open position appointments and personnel exchanges, in addition to internal promotions."

Minister Jeong added, "For the first time in public institutions in sectors traditionally barren for women such as roads, chemicals, nuclear medicine, and shipbuilding, female heads have emerged, and female public officials are gradually increasing in key positions such as budget and organization within central government ministries."

2020 Public Sector Women's Representation Enhancement Plan Implementation Status (Data provided by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family)

Regarding the criticism that the achievement of the female proportion among local government department heads was naturally fulfilled by the expansion of female public official appointments, Minister Jeong emphasized the importance of setting and managing targets. She responded, "When managing personnel affairs, if you do not track which departments and ranks these women belong to within the entire pool of public officials and where they are stagnating, it becomes difficult. Rather than setting goals that can be achieved by doing nothing, we set achievable targets for each department considering retirements and average promotion periods."

Although targets were met in 12 areas, the proportion of women remains relatively low compared to senior public officials, police and military public institutions, and local government department heads. As of last year, the female proportions by sector were ▲senior public officials 8.5%, ▲military officers 7.5%, ▲general police management positions 6.5%, and ▲coast guard management positions 2.7%, which are close to targets but still quite low.

Minister Jeong stated, "For senior public officials, the Ministry of Personnel Management plans to strengthen oversight by checking each ministry’s implementation plans and performance through the Female Senior Public Officials Appointment Management Team to ensure the 2021 appointment target of 9.6% is achieved without fail."

2021~2022 Public Sector Women's Representation Enhancement Plan Goals (Data provided by Ministry of Gender Equality and Family)

This year, the government raised the female appointment targets for local department heads, local public enterprise managers, national university professors, and coast guard management positions, which had achieved their goals early. The local department head target was raised by 1.5 percentage points to 21.5% this year and 22.5% next year. Local public enterprises were set at 10.8% and 11.0%, and national university professors at 18.3% and 19.1%, increased by 1.0 to 1.2 percentage points. Coast guard management positions were raised by 1 percentage point each to 2.8% and 2.9%.

The government plans to strengthen management by establishing and operating a 'Female Senior Public Officials Appointment Management Team' within the Ministry of Personnel Management to regularly review appointment plans by ministry. Additionally, it will enhance the appointment of female local managers and the management of key position performance.

Public institutions will establish appointment targets and implementation plans for executives from 2021 to 2025 under the 'Gender Equality Executive Appointment Target System' and will conduct surveys and analyses on gender-balanced elements such as gender workforce operation status, human resource management, talent development, and organizational culture.

The new appointment rate for female military officers will be raised by 1% from last year to 12.6%, and female police recruitment will maintain a level of 25-30%, fostering a gender-equal working environment. The Police University and officer candidates will continue integrated male-female selection, and recruitment of female coast guard officers and managers will also be expanded.

On the 2nd, Jeong Young-ae, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, announced the three-year progress of the "Five-Year Plan to Enhance Women's Representation in the Public Sector" at the Seoul Government Complex.

Minister Jeong emphasized that increasing women's representation in the public sector is not something that can be achieved automatically. She said, "After announcing the achievements at the Cabinet meeting, a minister from another department remarked that in a few decades, the numbers would naturally increase without effort. Hearing this now is the same as what I heard 20 years ago when I worked as the Blue House Balanced Personnel Secretary. It made me reconsider how much concrete effort is needed."

Minister Jeong added, "On March 8, International Women's Day, we plan to invite women who have broken the glass ceiling and demonstrated leadership in the public and private sectors to hear about their challenges and determination. Conversely, young women are facing difficulties in employment and promotion, and we intend to listen to their opinions as well. We will have opportunities to communicate with women in the field and actively work to resolve their difficulties."

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