[K-Women Talk] Gender Equality Is Also a Matter of Livelihood

[Asia Economy] The new year has dawned. Everyone is worried about the economic recession and focusing their attention on pathways to growth. As we once again encounter news of corporate restructuring amid ongoing and seemingly unending interest rate hikes over the past year, people’s hearts grow cold, recalling 1998 and 2008. When the economy worsens, the difficulties faced by socially vulnerable groups increase, and new initiatives are postponed. Socially, the spirit of inclusion narrows, while hatred and exclusion grow. In such circumstances, gender equality tends to be regarded as less important compared to basic livelihood issues. But is that really the case?

There was a panel discussion involving several young people in their early 30s, busy with making a living. A young woman running a small private company began the discussion with a brief but striking statement: “Equality is a matter of survival.” Her words deeply imprinted on my mind and lingered for a long time.

As she said, issues of livelihood and equality are not separate. Making a living is important to everyone and is the most important matter, but it is not solely an economic issue.

Looking at the domestic and international economic fields, the pursuit of diversity, including gender equality, is a clear trend. At world-class summits such as the G7 and G20, the pursuit of gender equality and diversity is embedded as a default. “Pluralism, inclusiveness, and diversity are sources of national power in a rapidly changing world.” This was also the perspective of the U.S. National Security Strategy last year. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board decided last year to apply a gender mainstreaming strategy to the institution’s operations and policies. The conclusion of the 2022 Gender Equality Forum hosted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, attended by many experts in business and economics, was diversity, equity, and inclusion. ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), led by the United Nations and spreading worldwide, along with the increasing number of corporate diversity declarations, is expanding through KAIST’s diversity and inclusion declaration last October and one of the visions of the Presidential Committee on National Integration, which is the diversity declaration.

However, in the arenas of politics and policy, this trend seems to have stalled. It appears stuck in inertia, failing to deeply examine changes in gender awareness and circumstances. Over the past 30 years, based on the somewhat changed gender relations, a longer and more complex journey should have been prepared. Claims of ‘reverse discrimination’ should have been seriously reviewed and debated from the perspective of equality, seeking deepened alternatives. But while this did not happen, words like ‘gender equality,’ ‘women,’ ‘sexual minorities,’ ‘migrants,’ and ‘refugees’ have become terms of self-censorship and avoidance. They have disappeared or weakened in public sector department names, educational content, and even government projects, with no sign of enthusiasm for new policy development. Diversity has become skeletal, and human rights issues have degenerated into matters of contention over terminology, educational content, opportunities, and resource allocation. From the perspective of coexistence, this is clearly regression.

Discrimination and inequality based on gender, disability, age, migration, and region are connected to livelihood issues. This is a challenge that everyone aboard the ship of the Republic of Korea must solve together. On a ship navigating rough seas, respect and inclusion are fundamental. When hatred and exclusion try to hold us back, the government, civil society, businesses, schools, and religions must boldly reject them and take a step forward. Politics must become a model student in pursuing diversity, which is the spirit of the times and its very reason for existence. I earnestly hope this year will be different from last year. I do not want to give up hope. Because it is a new year, it must be a new year.

Cha Insoon, Adjunct Professor at the National Assembly Legislative Research Institute