2149 Listed Companies Show a 36% Gender Wage Gap... Average Tenure Also '8.2 Years' vs '12.2 Years'

Average Wage Gender Gap per Employee in Listed Companies in 2020 at 35.9%, Down 0.8 Percentage Points from 2019
Average Wage Gender Gap per Employee in Public Institutions at 27.8%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Last year, the average wage gap between men and women per person among 2,149 listed companies reached 36%. Although the gap slightly decreased compared to the previous year, a significant difference still remains.

On the 1st, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family designated one day during Gender Equality Week as "Gender Equality Wage Day" for the first time, in accordance with the amendment to the Framework Act on Gender Equality, which mandates the publication of gender wage statistics. This year, Thursday during Gender Equality Week was set as "Gender Equality Wage Day," and the ministry announced the results of the gender wage gap survey for employees of listed companies and public institutions.

This survey was conducted by exhaustively investigating gender wage-related information of listed companies that submitted their 2020 business reports to the "Electronic Disclosure System" and individual public institutions disclosed on the "Public Institution Management Information Disclosure System (ALIO)." The results showed that the average wage per male employee in all listed companies was 79.8 million KRW, and the average wage per female employee was 51.1 million KRW, resulting in a gender wage gap of 35.9%. This wage gap decreased by 0.8 percentage points from 36.7% in 2019.

The average length of service for male employees in all listed companies was 12.2 years, while for female employees it was 8.2 years, showing a gender length of service gap of 32.6%. The length of service gap, which was 35.2% in 2019, slightly decreased to 32.6% last year. The larger the gender length of service gap in a given range, the greater the gender wage gap among employees within companies in that range.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family explained, "Analysis of the relationship between gender length of service gap and gender wage gap showed a strong correlation where a larger length of service gap corresponds to a higher wage gap. However, in some individual companies, even when the gender length of service gap was lower than average, the gender wage gap was higher than average. This is likely because wages are influenced by various factors beyond length of service, such as position and employment type."

Among all industries, the finance and insurance sector had the highest average wage per person for both male and female employees, with a wage gap of 41.4%. This is significantly higher than the overall gender wage gap of 35.9%. The ministry analyzed, "In the finance and insurance sector, the gender length of service gap, which correlates with the gender wage gap, was relatively low at 10.1%. This suggests that factors such as lower female representation, rather than length of service gap, may influence the gender wage gap."

The industry with the largest gender wage gap was business facility management, business support, and rental services at 48.5%, where the average length of service for male employees was 8.6 years and for female employees 3.9 years. The gender length of service gap (54.7%) was also the largest among all industries. The industries with the smallest gender wage gaps were arts, sports, and leisure-related services (22.5%) and electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply (22.5%), both of which had relatively small gender length of service gaps of 7.6% and 19.7%, respectively, compared to all industries.

Meanwhile, a survey of the gender wage gap among employees of 369 public institutions that disclosed their gender wage status last year showed that the average wage per male employee was 77.6 million KRW, and the average wage per female employee was 56.1 million KRW, resulting in a 27.8% gap. This represents a 0.8 percentage point decrease from 28.6% in 2019.

Jeong Young-ae, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, stated, "To eliminate the gender wage gap, it is essential to address overall gender disparities in the labor market, including entry into the job market, breaking the glass ceiling, gender-based occupational segregation, and employment types. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will strengthen policies to prevent career interruptions and maintain employment for women in the workforce, and will strive to reduce gender disparities in the labor market by enhancing gender diversity within companies."

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