[2023 Women’s Forum] Significant Improvement in Female Utilization Indicators Including Workforce Composition and Work-Family Balance

8th Asia Gender Equality Index Survey... 100 Companies in 5 Industries Surveyed
Score Increased by 6.84 Points from Last Year to 53.23... Continued Corporate Efforts Since COVID-19
High Female Turnover Rate and Still Low Executive Ratio

Woo Byung-hyun, CEO of Asia Economy, Kim Hyun-sook, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, Lee Sung-hee, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor, and other awardees are taking a commemorative photo 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@

The 8th Asia Gender Equality Index survey revealed a significant improvement in indicators related to female workforce utilization, which had stalled last year. Indicators in industries that showed low levels in last year's survey demonstrated clear improvement this year, reflecting companies' efforts toward gender equality.

This year's Asia Gender Equality Index (as of the end of 2022) scored 53.23 points, up 6.84 points from the previous year. While last year's survey showed a decline due to the impact of COVID-19, this year saw a substantial improvement. The survey items covered workforce composition, human resource management, work-family balance, and organizational culture. A survey was conducted on 100 companies across five industries: manufacturing, distribution & small and medium enterprises (SMEs), finance & securities, construction & real estate, and IT, pharmaceuticals & bio. Considering company size by industry, 32 manufacturing companies, 23 distribution & SMEs, 18 finance & securities, 22 IT, pharmaceuticals & bio, and 5 construction & real estate companies were surveyed.

On the 24th, Kim Hyun-sook, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, stated in her congratulatory speech at the Asia Gender Equality Index Awards ceremony, "With social efforts including those by companies coming together, the female employment rate continues to reach record highs compared to the same month last year, showing a clear upward trend. The employment rate of women in their 30s has also greatly improved, alleviating the 'M-curve' phenomenon that indicates career interruptions." She added, "This quantitative expansion of women's economic activities can also lead to qualitative changes such as closing the gender wage gap and enhancing gender representation."

The survey results showed that the IT, pharmaceuticals & bio industry had the highest gender equality index score at 65.91 points. Finance & securities followed with 59.96 points. Next were distribution & SMEs at 50.71 points and construction & real estate at 50.04 points. Manufacturing scored 48.79 points, the only industry below 50 points among the surveyed sectors, showing the lowest level.

Last year's survey showed that except for IT, pharmaceuticals & bio, all industries scored below 50 points, but this year all industries showed clear improvement. Professor Jeon Yi-young of the Korea Employment and Labor Education Institute explained, "Although there are industry-specific characteristics, the overall index shows a steady improvement trend." According to the gender equality consulting diagnostic system standards under the government's active employment improvement measures, scores between 45 and 55 are classified as 'average,' and scores between 55 and 70 as 'excellent.'

In terms of workforce composition, the average proportion of female employees among the 100 respondent companies was 31.86%. The proportion of women was high in distribution (47.54%) and finance & securities (46.68%), while it was low in construction & real estate (12.08%) and manufacturing (16.65%).

The average ratio of women's length of service compared to men was 83.36%. Finance & securities showed the highest ratio at 95.76%, followed by distribution at 93.82%. Construction & real estate (69.48%) and manufacturing (73.47%) showed lower ratios.

The turnover rate of women compared to men remained significantly higher. The average ratio of female turnover rate to male turnover rate among the 100 respondent companies was 132.10%, similar to last year. Differences were observed by industry. Finance & securities (60.98%) and construction & real estate (90.86%) had lower female turnover rates than males, whereas manufacturing (196.72%) and distribution (146.49%) showed particularly high female turnover rates.

The proportion of female executives remained low. The relative ratio of female to male executives was only 23.38%. The IT, bio & pharmaceuticals industry had the highest ratio at 36.37%, and construction & real estate the lowest at 12.38%. The finance & securities industry, which showed the lowest level last year, showed significant improvement this year. The proportion of female executives increased from 9.79% last year to 18.81% this year. The ratio of female representatives in labor unions or labor-management councils compared to female employees was 71.19%, with only the construction & real estate industry (107.05%) showing a higher relative ratio of female representatives than male representatives.

In terms of human resource management, the promotion rate of female employees to female managerial positions was 43.58%. The IT, bio & pharmaceuticals industry had a high promotion rate of 65.40%, while construction & real estate (27.88%), manufacturing (28.59%), and finance & securities (29.81%) were below 30%. However, construction & real estate showed a significant improvement compared to 5% last year.

Regarding compensation, the average wage ratio of women to men at the staff level was 94.02%. Across all industries, women earned less than men. Particularly, finance & securities recorded 87.54%, the only surveyed industry below 90%.

Regarding work-family balance, the utilization rate of the reduced working hours system during pregnancy was 66.88% across all industries, up from 51.77% last year. Manufacturing (73.43%) and finance & securities (73.36%) showed relatively high utilization rates. Notably, finance & securities, which had the lowest rate of 27.54% last year, showed a significant improvement this year.

Among the 100 companies, 67 companies (67.0%) utilized the paid paternity leave system, an increase from 64 companies (65.31%) the previous year. Additionally, 83 companies (83.0%) utilized the male parental leave system, showing a steadily increasing trend year by year.

Professor Sung Sang-hyun of Dongguk University, who was in charge of evaluating excellent companies, stated, "Women, who make up half the population and possess high education levels and capabilities, play an active role and their utilization is a key human resource management task to overcome this period of upheaval." He evaluated, "This year's award-winning companies not only expanded female employment quantitatively but also support career growth by operating systematic programs for smooth return to work without career interruption and providing step-by-step leadership training for women to grow as leaders."

Professor Lim Hee-jung of Hanyang Cyber University, commenting on Lotte Department Store, which received the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Award, explained, "It excels in all four areas: high female employment rate, fostering female managers, career development through internal recruitment, family-friendly corporate culture, and operation of an automatic male parental leave system, covering female employment, gender equality, work-family balance, and corporate culture."

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