[2023 Women’s Forum] Lotte Department Store, Leadership Level-Up Training and Female Manager Development

Gender Equality Index Award | Minister of Gender Equality and Family Award

Junho Jeong, CEO of Lotte Department Store

Lotte Department Store received the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Award at the 8th Asia Gender Equality Index Awards.

Lotte Department Store operates various systems that enable work-life balance along with efforts to promote female employment. Currently, women make up 60% of the regular employees at Lotte Department Store, and among new hires from 2021 to 2023, the figure reaches 70%.

They are also committed to nurturing female managers. Since last year, Lotte Department Store has been conducting 'Leadership Level-Up Training' for team leaders. This program supports enhancing leadership capabilities as managers through behavioral diagnosis, conflict management, and more. Participation of female team leaders is actively encouraged, with 94% of female team leaders attending the training as of this year. This is a high rate compared to the 71% completion rate among male team leaders.

To help female talents maintain their careers and grow as managers after parental leave, an 'Onboarding Program' for returning employees is also in place. Employees returning from parental leave are assigned to departments within five preferred work locations, prioritizing placement in their previous roles to ensure career continuity after returning.

Additionally, workshops and manuals are provided to support smooth reintegration into work. Between 2021 and 2021, 89% of returning employees were assigned to roles similar to those held before parental leave, maintaining their career paths, and 98% were guaranteed job continuity within two years of returning.

Shin Nam-sun, Head of HR at Lotte Department Store, is receiving the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Award at the "8th Asia Gender Equality Index Awards" held on the 24th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Moreover, Lotte Department Store has established various welfare systems to support work-family balance and foster a family-friendly corporate culture. First, they operate a ‘Male Automatic Parental Leave System’ that allows men to freely take parental leave. Male employees are required to take at least one month of parental leave upon the birth of a child, and official notices are sent if the leave is delayed. Due to this system, 100% of male employees whose spouses gave birth in the past three years have taken parental leave, and parental leave for personal reasons is also on the rise.

They also support infertility leave and treatment expenses, and have implemented a ‘Prospective Father Fetal Examination Leave’ allowing male employees to accompany their spouses during early fetal checkups. In addition to legally mandated maternity and parental leave, an ‘Additional Parental Leave System’ allows employees to take up to one more year, guaranteeing up to two years of parental leave. To support maternal protection during child care periods, up to one year of child care leave is also provided.

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