Low-wage workers earning less than 1.47 million KRW per month... Women are three times more likely than men

Seoul City Publishes 2019 Gender Statistics
Average Monthly Wage of Female Wage Workers 2.1 Million KRW, 63% of Male Workers

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Among female workers in Seoul, the proportion of 'low-wage workers' earning less than 1.47 million KRW per month was 27.5%, about three times higher than that of men.

On the 9th, Seoul City announced the publication of the '2019 Gender Statistics: Seoul Women in Statistics' to understand the living conditions of women and men residing in Seoul. The statistics consist of 424 indicators across 45 areas in 10 sectors.

Women had a lower economic activity participation rate and lower average wages compared to men. As of 2018, the economic activity participation rate for women aged 15 and older was 54.1%, showing a gap compared to men (71.9%). The average monthly wage of female wage workers was 2.1 million KRW, which was 63% of the male average of 3.34 million KRW. Industries with large gender wage gaps were health and social welfare (49%), electricity, gas, and steam (47%), and finance, insurance, manufacturing, and public administration (43%) in that order.

Both women (54.5%) and men (52.6%) perceived social risks to have increased compared to 10 years ago, with women citing crime and men citing environmental pollution as the biggest social safety concerns.

The average participation rate of appointed female members in Seoul City committees was 44.9%. The proportion of female public officials at grade 5 or higher in Seoul City rose from 21.8% in 2017 to 23.2% in 2018.

The proportion of female prosecutors in Seoul-based prosecutors' offices remained in the 26% range from 2015 to 2018, then increased to 27.3% in September last year. The proportion of female police officers at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency rose from 9.9% in 2015 to 12.0% last year, while the proportion of female senior officers at rank inspector and above decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 9.1% compared to 2015.

The proportion of male childcare leave recipients was 12.8%, increasing by 3.8 percentage points within one year. The number of women receiving reduced working hours during childcare increased from 1,459 in 2017 to 1,703 in 2018.

Among single-person households in Seoul, 58.7% were female household heads and 41.3% were male household heads. Among single-person households, women were most prevalent in their 60s and older, while men were most prevalent in their 30s.