[Exclusive] BC Card Ranks Lowest in Gender Equality in Finance Sector... Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Tops the List [K Population Strategy]

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Ranks First Overall
Half of Outside Directors Are Women
Focus on Strengthening Female Talent

Bank No.1 'KB Kookmin Bank'
Adheres to Principles of Female Workforce Placement
Card Companies Generally Show Poor Performance

Editor's NoteThe corporate atmosphere that evaluates work regardless of gender and a family-friendly culture provide clues to solving the pressing demographic issues. The '2024 Asia Economy Gender Equality Comprehensive Score,' published for the ninth consecutive year to establish a work-family balance culture, deeply analyzes and discloses the gender employment status and trends of leading domestic companies. This year's survey covers the top 100 listed companies by sales and 36 financial companies.

Among the 36 financial companies surveyed, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance took first place in the '2024 Asia Economy Gender Equality Comprehensive Score.' Samsung Fire scored 33.75 points to claim the top spot. The lowest rank went to BC Card (16.75 points).

The survey targets included 10 banks from the four major financial holding companies and three regional financial holding companies, as well as internet-only banks, 10 leading securities firms, three major life insurance companies, five major non-life insurance companies, and eight specialized card companies. A comprehensive survey was conducted on regular employees' numbers, years of service, salaries, and the status of internal and external directors over the past five years (2019?2023) to derive the gender equality comprehensive score. Additional points were awarded using government certification systems evaluating companies' work-family balance.

By sector, among the four major banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori), KB Kookmin Bank ranked first with 31.25 points, while Shinhan Bank had the lowest score at 27.00 points. Among securities firms, Samsung Securities ranked first with 33.25 points, and Hana Securities lagged behind with 22.75 points. Samsung Fire, which took the overall first place, also led among insurance companies, while KB Insurance ranked last among insurers with 18.25 points. In the card sector, Hana Card ranked joint fourth, achieving the highest position.

Overall First Place: 'Samsung Fire'... Last Place: 'BC Card'

Samsung Fire received relatively balanced scores across all categories, particularly ranking high in female employee tenure and external directors, securing first place. As of the end of last year, the proportion of female external directors at Samsung Fire reached 50%. In March last year, by appointing former Supreme Court Justice Kim So-young, two of the four external directors at Samsung Fire became women. This focus on strengthening female talent in the traditionally male-dominated conservative financial sector appears to have contributed to their top ranking.

According to Samsung Fire, as of the end of 2022, women accounted for 44% of employees, and the number of female executives and managers has been increasing annually. The proportion of female executives rose from 10.7% in 2020 to 14% in 2022, and female managers increased from 431 (15%) to 527, raising the overall percentage to 17.4%. Samsung Fire has also set mid- to long-term goals to achieve 50% female employees and 30% female managers by 2030.

In contrast, BC Card, which ranked last overall, scored 17 points lower than Samsung Fire. As of last year, the proportion of female regular employees at BC Card was about 28.40%, significantly lower than other financial firms (48%). Female employees' tenure was also more than seven years shorter than that of male employees. BC Card had no female internal or external directors for five years.

Regarding this, a BC Card representative stated, "Because the company has a long history, there are many long-tenured male employees, which is a phenomenon also seen in other long-established companies. However, looking at the regular employee hiring ratio over the past three years, both men and women have been hired at similar rates of about 50%, so the gap is expected to narrow significantly in the future."

Looking at the top 10 overall rankings, there were four banks, three securities firms, two insurance companies, and one card company. Following Samsung Fire, Samsung Securities ranked second, and Kookmin Bank came in third. Hana Card and Meritz Fire Insurance tied for fourth place, with Mirae Asset Securities in sixth. Next were Hana Bank (7th), Woori Bank (8th), NH Investment & Securities (9th), and Daegu Bank (10th).

Last Among the Four Major Banks: 'Shinhan Bank'... Regional Banks Without Female External Directors

Among the four major banks, Shinhan Bank ranked last. It received relatively low scores in the number of female regular employees and female tenure, placing it 18th overall. Shinhan Bank was the only one among the four major banks where the proportion of female regular employees was below 50%. As of last year, the proportion of female regular employees was 47.96%, and the average salary of female employees was only 69.47% of that of male employees. Compared to Woori Bank (83.06%), Kookmin Bank (77.37%), and Hana Bank (73.43%), Shinhan Bank showed a significant gender pay gap.

Kookmin Bank, which ranked first among the four major banks, received particularly high scores in female employee tenure, placing it third overall in the financial sector. Kookmin Bank recognized the tenure of contract employees converted to regular employees from their actual hiring date, not the conversion date. This was reflected in last year's business report, increasing female regular employee tenure from 13 years and 6 months in 2022 to 17 years and 5 months last year. As KB Financial Group puts considerable effort into utilizing female talent among financial holding companies, Kookmin Bank is also actively implementing policies related to female workforce. The bank follows principles of assigning 20% female branch managers, 30% female headquarters team leaders, and 40% female headquarters team members, promoting favorable policies for outstanding female talent.

The gender equality levels among regional banks were generally similar, with Daegu Bank ranking highest, followed by Busan Bank, Jeonbuk Bank, and Gyeongnam Bank. However, regional banks lacked significant female external directors. All four had a 0% proportion of female external directors last year, contrasting with the approximately 20% female external director ratio in the four major banks (excluding Woori Bank).

Internet-only banks such as KakaoBank and K Bank ranked 24th and 34th overall, respectively. However, since these banks have histories of less than 10 years, it was difficult to directly compare evaluation items like average tenure.

Securities Firms: Long Tenure but Female Compensation at 67% of Male Level

Among securities firms, Samsung Securities ranked first, and Hana Securities ranked last. However, Samsung Securities' ranking temporarily rose due to a momentary increase in the proportion of female external directors following the resignation of external director Andong-hyun in December last year. Samsung Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, and NH Investment & Securities, which ranked high, all received additional points for family-friendly certification, widening the score gap with other securities firms.

Mirae Asset Securities, ranked sixth overall and second among securities firms, scored relatively high in female external directors. From 2020 to 2023, Mirae Asset Securities consistently maintained a 25% proportion of female external directors. Various systems to build a work-family balance culture are also in place. According to Mirae Asset Securities' 2023 integrated report, flexible work hours such as staggered commuting and selectable lunch breaks support employees' work-family balance. Maternity protection policies include paid leave for employees with infertility and encouragement of reduced working hours during childcare periods. As of 2022, the return-to-work rate after parental leave was 91.66% for men and 76.64% for women.

Compared to other financial sectors, securities firms showed a tendency for female employees to have longer tenure than males. However, except for Mirae Asset, Korea Investment, Hana, and Kiwoom Securities, the proportion of female regular employees was below 50% last year. The average female salary was about 66.61% of males' (average of 10 companies). This indicates that women tend to work long-term for lower pay, reflecting lower employment quality compared to men.

Lowest Among Insurers: 'KB Insurance'... Poor Scores Among Card Companies

Among insurers, KB Insurance showed the poorest performance. Although the proportion of female external directors was about 25% in 2022, it dropped to 0% last year, resulting in point deductions and a lower score. However, with the appointment of director Kim Soo-in at this year's shareholders' meeting, the proportion of female external directors is expected to return to 25% in next year's survey. The ranking of the 10 insurance companies was Samsung Fire, Meritz Fire, Samsung Life & Kyobo Life, Hanwha Life, DB Insurance, Hyundai Marine, and KB Insurance.

DB Insurance, which ranked first in the financial sector in last year's Asia Economy Gender Equality Comprehensive Score, fell to 22nd place this time, landing in the mid-tier. DB Insurance scored high in the number of female regular employees and average female tenure but scored low in the average female salary compared to males, causing the ranking drop. The company also failed to gain additional points from the newly added family-friendly certification, contributing to the decline.

Among the eight card companies, Hana Card achieved the highest score. Hana Card ranked high in the external director category. According to last year's business report, two of the four external directors, Jeon Seon-ae and Kwon Sook-gyo, were women, making the female ratio 50%. The proportion of female regular employees was 44.66%, up 3.41 percentage points compared to five years ago.

The card company rankings were Hana Card, Shinhan Card, KB Kookmin Card, Lotte Card, Woori Card, Hyundai Card, Samsung Card, and BC Card. Except for Hana Card, most card companies did not rank high in the gender equality comprehensive score. They generally scored low in female regular employee ratio, tenure, salary, internal directors, and external directors, resulting in lower scores compared to other sectors.

Glass Ceiling Persists in Financial Sector... Only One Female Internal Director

However, the glass ceiling remains prevalent in financial companies. Women held a minimal proportion in key decision-making positions. As of the end of last year, among 36 financial companies, only one female internal director was Park Jung-rim, former CEO of KB Securities. Park, who was the first female CEO in the securities industry, has since stepped down.

By sector, except for KB Securities and Daishin Securities, no securities firms had female internal directors in the past five years. Daishin Securities had about 33% female internal directors from 2019 to 2022, but after the resignation of Chairwoman Lee Eo-ryong, widow of the late Yang Hoe-moon, the proportion dropped to 0% last year.

The banking sector showed a similar situation. Analysis of business reports from the four major banks revealed no female internal directors in the past five years. Regional banks such as Busan, Gyeongnam, Daegu, and Jeonbuk banks also had none. The relatively young organizations of KakaoBank and K Bank showed similar patterns. No female bank presidents have been appointed at major commercial banks yet. However, across the banking sector, women such as Kang Shin-sook, president of Sh Suhyup Bank; Yoo Myung-soon, president of Citibank Korea; and Lee Eun-mi, appointed last month as CEO of Toss Bank, are leading.

Among card companies, some had no female internal or external directors in the past five years. Hyundai, Woori, and BC Card had no female internal or external directors during this period.