Samil PwC: "South Korea's Female Employment Environment Ranks Among the Lowest in the OECD"

On International Women's Day

"Women in Work Index" Report Released

"Need to Improve the Gender Wage Gap"

South Korea's female employment environment ranked 32nd out of 33 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It remained at the bottom in the gender wage gap category.

Samil PwC released its "Women in Work Index" report on March 6, analyzing female employment performance across 33 OECD countries in light of International Women's Day (March 8).

South Korea's female employment environment ranked 32nd out of 33 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It remained at the bottom in the gender wage gap category. Getty Images

According to the report, the female labor force participation rate in OECD countries reached a record high of 73%. The gender wage gap also narrowed, falling by 0.6 percentage points year-on-year to 12.4%, indicating an overall trend of improvement. However, due to the economic slowdown, the female unemployment rate rose from 5.3% to 5.5%, and the share of women in full-time employment fell from 78.1% to 76.8%. PwC analyzed that although more women participated in the labor market due to increasing living costs, the creation of quality jobs has not been sufficient to support this trend.

South Korea's Women in Work Index score was 49.1, ranking 32nd out of 33 OECD countries. In particular, the gender wage gap was 29%, the highest among all surveyed countries. This means that when men earn 1 million won, women on average earn 710,000 won. By country, Iceland achieved the highest score at 82.7, followed by Luxembourg (82.5), New Zealand (81.2), Sweden (79.6), and Slovenia (79.3). On the other hand, the United States ranked 26th, Japan 28th, and Mexico was at the bottom.

The report pointed out that countries with high Women in Work Index scores commonly have well-established childcare support and parental leave systems. For example, New Zealand provides subsidies of up to 20 hours per week for before- and after-school care, while Sweden offers after-school care for children under 12 if parents are working or studying. Luxembourg legally guarantees a variety of part-time work systems and provides sufficient levels of alternative pay.

Hoonsoo Yoon, CEO of Samil PwC, said, "The fact that South Korea's female employment environment remains among the lowest in the OECD highlights the urgent need to address the gender wage gap and improve the quality of female employment. We hope that systems supporting work-life balance and a non-discriminatory organizational culture will spread throughout society."

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