[Women’s Forum 10th Anniversary] 9 out of 10 Say "Han, a Society Where Producing Female Leaders Is Difficult"

10th Anniversary Survey of the Asia Women Leaders Forum

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] It has been pointed out that in order for South Korea to leap forward as a powerhouse of female leadership, distorted perceptions of gender roles must first be corrected. There were also opinions that government policy support is urgently needed to minimize disadvantages arising from marriage and childbirth, such as providing benefits to companies that hire women with career interruptions.

Asia Economy conducted an online survey of 500 working women aged 25 and older residing in the metropolitan area from the 12th to the 14th, commissioned to Winzi Korea Consulting ahead of the ‘10th Asia Women Leaders Forum.’ As a result, 93% of respondents stated that ‘it is difficult for women to become leaders in our society.’ ▶Related articles on pages 8 and 9

The greatest obstacles to improving women’s social status were identified as the responsibility for childbirth, childcare, and housework disproportionately falling on women (77.6%), gender-discriminatory treatment tacitly accepted throughout society after marriage (40.4%), and promotion systems favoring men (37.6%). Kim Kyung-sun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said in this regard, “The private labor market is slower in achieving gender equality compared to the public sector,” adding, “Employment rates themselves are low, and the wage gap is large, so there is a long way to go.”

The most common response, at 9.7%, was that ‘improving social perceptions of gender roles’ must be addressed for female leadership to develop. Other challenges included providing incentives to companies hiring women with career interruptions (6.5%), expanding childcare support (5.0%), and mandating gender employment equality (5.0%). While the majority agreed that government policies for women should be maintained and expanded, some programs had extremely low awareness. About half of respondents said they were unaware of policies such as increasing female representation in the public sector (49.4%) and gender impact assessments (54%).

Most women experienced gender discrimination shortly after starting their careers. Eight out of ten respondents said they had been treated unfairly due to their gender. Particularly among women in their 20s, 30% reported ‘frequent experiences’ of discrimination, more than double the average for other age groups (14%). While most agreed with the claim that ‘women resign earlier than men,’ many did not agree with opinions such as ‘female leaders have less decisiveness and drive than male leaders’ or ‘it is difficult for women leaders to achieve results in organizations.’

The 10th Asia Women Leaders Forum will open at 9:20 a.m. on the 27th at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul.

◆How the survey was conducted

Asia Economy Newspaper conducted a survey on perceptions of female leadership to mark the ‘10th anniversary of the Asia Women Leaders Forum,’ commissioned to the professional agency Winzi Korea Consulting. The survey was conducted online from the 12th to the 14th using a structured questionnaire targeting 500 working women aged 25 and older residing in the metropolitan area. The sampling error is ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.