77% of Working Women Say "COVID-19 Increased Both Workplace and Family Burdens"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] A survey has revealed that the burdens on working women in both their professional and family lives have increased due to COVID-19.

Deloitte Korea Group announced on the 10th the results of Deloitte Global’s "Women at Work: A Global Outlook" report, which surveyed women's career satisfaction after the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report is based on a survey conducted from November 2020 to March 2021, targeting over 5,000 women aged 18 to 64 across 10 countries worldwide.

According to the report, 51% of respondents viewed their future careers negatively due to increased responsibilities at work and home during the pandemic. Seventy-seven percent of the women surveyed said their responsibilities had increased in both the workplace and at home. Among them, 59% reported an increased burden of housework during the pandemic, while 35% and 24% said they spent more time on childcare and caring for dependents, respectively.

Furthermore, as the boundaries between work and home blurred during the pandemic and housework became a significant burden for working women, their motivation and work engagement declined. During the same period, women's job satisfaction dropped by 29 percentage points. Fifty-seven percent said they would leave their jobs within two years due to an imbalance between work and personal life.

The level of gender equality in the workplace also regressed during the pandemic. More than half of the women surveyed reported experiencing unwanted physical contact and gender-discriminatory behavior at work in the past year. Among them, one-quarter did not report such behavior to their companies due to fear of 'career retaliation.'

The report analyzed that a non-inclusive workplace culture negatively affected work productivity. Only 29% of women working in non-inclusive workplace cultures rated their productivity as 'good' or 'very good,' whereas 70% of women working in progressive corporate cultures responded with 'good' or 'very good' regarding productivity.

Baek In-kyu, Chairman of the Board and ESG Center Head at Deloitte Korea Group, emphasized, "Companies need to proactively identify and address the difficulties faced by female employees." He added, "An inclusive organizational culture enhances female employees' work engagement and productivity, providing opportunities for mutual growth with the company."

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