"From Male Ministers to Parental Leave... The Will of the State and Companies Is Key" [K Population Strategy]

(23) US Civic Group 'Equimundo' Gary Barker Representative
Equality Must Be Achieved to Solve Korea's Low Birthrate
Corporate Productivity Increases When Childcare Is Smooth

Editor's NoteThe key to solving South Korea's population problem lies within companies. A workplace culture that evaluates employees based on their work regardless of gender and a family-friendly environment are crucial to addressing the K-population issue. While low birth rates are influenced by multiple factors, it is important to ensure that workplace burdens do not become obstacles that make people hesitate to have children. Asia Economy plans to visit companies leading family-friendly policies to identify the factors that helped these systems take root stably, and to explore various solutions with companies that face practical challenges. Through this, we aim to encourage change starting from companies and analyze the government's role in enabling this. We listen to voices emphasizing that company culture and atmosphere that reduce psychological burdens are more critical than financial support, and propose alternatives from diverse perspectives.

"Men will not take parental leave until the system is normalized and institutionalized. Male CEOs and ministers must personally take parental leave to set an example."

Gary Barker, CEO of the US-based NGO Equimundo, which researches the status of 'Global Dad Parenting,' emphasized this in an interview with Asia Economy on the 25th, stating, "To increase the utilization rate of parental leave in the workplace, actions beyond simply encouraging leave are necessary." He explained that without managers taking the lead, the environment for men's participation in childcare cannot even approach that of women.

Barker, who founded and leads Equimundo, is a leading expert on fatherhood research and has been recognized by UN Women and the US Congress. Since 2015, Equimundo has published the 'State of the World's Fathers Report' every two years, meticulously tracking fatherhood trends in 15 countries including the US and China over nearly a decade. The '2023 State of the World's Fathers Report' released last year highlighted that while men feel responsible for childcare, women still invest more time and energy in caring for children.

Gary Barker, CEO of Equimundo.
[Photo by Equimundo]

Throughout the interview, Barker stressed that 'care inequality' is widespread globally. He pointed out, "Worldwide, women spend more than three times as much time caring for children and family compared to men," and "Even when women work outside the home and earn money, they still perform more caregiving labor on average than men."

He identified the wage gap between men and women as a major cause of this recurring situation. Barker analyzed, "Women tend to work fewer hours, change jobs, and are more likely to leave their jobs after having children compared to men. Often, couples make these decisions due to social norms or because men earn higher wages, perpetuating a cycle of inequality."

Barker also pointed out the problem of societal perceptions. He said, "Globally, we continue to think that household labor is secondary and not men's work." He criticized the neglect of the fact that smooth childcare increases productivity both at home and in companies. He emphasized, "No economy in the world can be productive without caregiving labor. We must make it visible, account for it, and continuously demand that men fulfill their roles."

He explained that recently, the recognition that employee welfare also contributes to corporate productivity has become widespread. Barker said, "We all play caregiving roles at home and have social lives at work. All these processes significantly impact productivity."

Barker believes this also benefits men themselves and their families. He said, "When we connect more with our children, it is good for men as well," adding, "While preparing the report, we confirmed that men who have better mental health and closer relationships with their children are happier."

Barker stated that from early childhood, regardless of gender, children should be naturally exposed to the value of childcare and housework both at home and school, and taught to work equally. He emphasized, "Sons should be involved in childcare as much as daughters," highlighting the importance of male participation especially from pregnancy, childbirth, and the early bonding period with children.

Ultimately, Barker argues that 'healthy masculinity' should become a core value among men. This means a masculinity that values peace and dialogue over violence, respects women as equals to men, and treats all sexual orientations and gender identities equally.

He stressed that policy support from governments and companies is essential to realize caregiving equality. Barker explained, "As long as men's incomes remain higher than women's and childcare is seen as an individual burden, women are more likely to leave their jobs after having children." He said, "The only way to break this vicious cycle is to provide paid leave, flexible work policies, and workplaces that promise full and equal participation of women." He insisted that political will is also necessary. Barker said, "It is necessary to implement measures such as wage gap disclosure and mandatory parental leave. These solutions are only possible when countries or companies have the political will to execute them."

He also stated that achieving caregiving equality between men and women is essential to solving South Korea's low birth rate problem. Barker emphasized, "Korean women know how extremely difficult it is to live outside the home once they have children," and "If Korean society wants couples to have children, it must actively invest in gender equality and enable men to play a central role in childcare."

88% of Men Say "Paternal Parental Leave is Necessary"

The issue of caregiving inequality remains an unresolved global challenge. The '2023 State of the World's Fathers Report' confirms that while men feel responsible for childcare, women still invest more time and energy in caring for children worldwide. However, the report emphasizes that since both men and women are willing to utilize paid caregiving leave such as parental leave at work, expanding corporate work-family balance policies and government support is urgently needed.

According to the report published last year based on a survey of 11,999 people across 15 countries conducted by Equimundo and US data collection firm Rep Data, 89% of men responded that they feel a sense of responsibility for caregiving, compared to 81% of women. Additionally, 87% of men said they share caregiving responsibilities equally with their spouses, higher than 74% of women.

However, in reality, women perform more caregiving labor than men. On average worldwide, women do more house cleaning (1.36 times), physical childcare (1.32 times), emotional childcare (1.26 times), and cooking (1.17 times) than men. Consequently, 55% of women reported feeling stressed by sharing caregiving labor with their spouses, compared to 50% of men. The wage gap was identified as a fundamental cause of the caregiving gap. More women (59%) than men (42%) responded that they do more caregiving labor at home because their partner earns a higher salary.

Among those who received caregiving leave (including maternity/paternity leave and family responsibility leave) but did not use all available leave, the largest proportion (49% of both men and women) cited "lack of paid leave" as the biggest barrier. Other factors included fear of losing their job (40%), lack of support from managers for taking leave (36%), and fear of judgment from friends or colleagues (18%).

The report analyzes that not only women but also men want paid parental leave. While 87% of women said "maternal parental leave" would be helpful, 88% of men said "paternal parental leave" would be helpful. However, the report points out that the duration of men's parental leave is relatively shorter than that of women.

A significant number of parents expressed willingness to take proactive measures such as changing jobs or quitting to secure more paid leave time. Among men, 45% were willing to change jobs and 29% willing to quit. Among women, 40% were willing to change jobs and 25% willing to quit.

Special Coverage Team 'K-Population Strategy - Gender Equality is the Answer'

Reporters Yuri Kim, Hyunju Lee, Hyunjin Jung, Aeri Boo, Byungseon Gong, Juni Park, Seungseop Song
Editor-in-Chief Pilsoo Kim (Economics & Finance)