Women under 40% at 85.8%... Construction, Urban Planning, Transportation Fields
Men under 40% at 14.2%... Childcare, Meal Service, Child and Women Fields
Average Appointed Female Participation Rate at 41.8%, Highest Ever
Trends in the Participation Rate of Appointed Female Officials by Year (Source: Ministry of Gender Equality and Family)
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family recommended improvements to 6,514 local government committees (35.04%) where the participation rate of a specific gender is below 40%. Among the committees subject to improvement recommendations, 85.8% had female participation rates below 40%, while 14.2% had male participation rates below 40%.
On the 28th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that as of the end of last year, out of 18,589 local government committees, 7,600 committees (40%) had a participation rate of a specific gender below the legal standard of 40%. After reviewing the reasons for the shortfall, 6,514 committees, or 35% of the total, were recommended for improvement. The Ministry manages the gender participation status of appointed members of national and local government committees based on the Framework Act on Gender Equality.
Among the 7,600 committees, 5,772 had female appointed member ratios below 40%, including committees related to regional construction industry, urban planning, and traffic safety. Committees with male appointed member ratios below 40% numbered 1,828, including those related to childcare, meal services, and child and women's safety. Of the 6,514 committees recommended for improvement, 85.8% (5,588) had female participation below 40%, and 14.2% (926) had male participation below 40%.
Reflecting the final results of the review on the reasons for the specific gender participation rate falling below 40%, the average female participation rate among appointed members reached a record high of 41.8%, an increase of 5.4 percentage points from 36.4% in 2017.
Average Regional Participation Rate of Appointed Female Officials (Source: Ministry of Gender Equality and Family)
Average Participation Rate of Appointed Female Officials by Metropolitan and Basic Local Governments (Source: Ministry of Gender Equality and Family)
The female participation rate in committees under metropolitan local governments was 44.9%, up 2.7 percentage points from 42.2% in 2017, while committees under basic local governments had a rate of 41.4%, up 5.8 percentage points from 35.6% in 2017.
By local government, Incheon Metropolitan City (47.4%) and Gyeonggi-do (45.9%) had the highest rates. Regions with the largest year-on-year increases were Jeju Special Self-Governing Province (1.0 percentage point) and Gangwon-do (1.0 percentage point). Among basic local governments, Daegu Metropolitan City had the highest female participation rate at 45.5%. The largest increases were seen in basic local governments under Ulsan Metropolitan City (1.3 percentage points) and Jeollanam-do (1.2 percentage points).
The number of basic local governments with an average female participation rate among appointed members below 40% decreased from six to four. Although the female participation rate in appointed members of basic local government committees continues to rise, the gap between metropolitan and basic local governments requires improvement.
Jeong Young-ae, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, stated, "It is very encouraging that the female participation rate in local government committees is increasing every year, spreading the achievements of enhancing women's representation in the public sector to local governments. Since local government committees make policy decisions closely related to local residents, I hope a more gender-equal perspective will be reflected, and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will not hesitate to provide necessary support."
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