[Women’s Forum 10th Anniversary] "Science, Engineering, and Economic Fields Show Particularly Low Social Status for Women"

'10th Anniversary of Asia Women Leaders Forum' Survey
Respondents Rating Women's Status High: Science & Engineering 9% - Economy 8.8%
Education Field Highest, Culture & Arts Also Over Half

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The 121-year-old Nobel Prize faces diversity controversies every October when the winners are announced. Most recipients have been white men, leading to criticism over the lack of gender and racial diversity. Among the total 975 laureates, only 58 (5.9%) are women.

Reflecting this reality, 9 out of 10 women evaluated that women's social status is not high in the fields of science and economics. In contrast, more than half perceived women's social status as high in education, culture, and the arts. In this survey, only 9.0% and 8.8% of respondents rated women's current social status as high in the science & engineering and economics fields, respectively. The positive response rate did not even reach 10%.

On the other hand, the field with the highest percentage of respondents saying women's status is high was education. 66.6% of respondents viewed women's social status as high in education. Especially among those aged 60 and above, 9 out of 10 respondents evaluated that women enjoy a high social status in education. In the culture and arts sector, more than half (54.0%) of female office workers responded that women's social status is relatively high.

Professor Shin Kwangyoung of the Department of Sociology at Chung-Ang University analyzed that this phenomenon is related to university major ratios. He said, "The proportion of female students entering science and engineering is low, and consequently, their entry into those fields after graduation is also limited. On the other hand, the education and culture & arts fields have a high proportion of female students," adding, "The survey responses were based on this reality of women."

Additionally, the public sector recorded 24.4%, the legal profession 17.8%, and politics 15.6%, indicating that many female office workers perceive women's social status as relatively low in these fields. Although the proportion of women in each sector is gradually increasing, it remains insufficient, which is interpreted as affecting the pace of social status improvement.

How the Survey Was Conducted

Asia Economy Newspaper conducted a survey on perceptions of female leadership to commemorate 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 among 500 female office workers aged 25 and above residing in the metropolitan area, using a structured questionnaire. The sampling error is ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.