[Exclusive] Ministry of Gender Equality's Corporate 'Gender Balance' Consulting Replaced by HR Training

This Year’s Related Budget Cut by 300 Million KRW
'Gender Balance Partnership' Fully Cut
Corporate Training Projects Also Reduced Due to Budget Cuts

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which cut its budget for female workforce development by about 300 million won this year, has replaced gender balance 'customized consulting' for companies with one-time 'personnel training.' There are concerns that measures to resolve gender imbalance in companies are regressing.

On the 21st, the Ministry held a 'Organizational Culture Improvement Competency Training' for HR managers from about 60 companies at Lotte Tower in Seoul. The lecture covered ways to incorporate gender-balanced elements into organizational culture such as 'ESG (Environment, Social, Governance)' and 'DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion).' The Ministry plans to conduct this HR manager training four times this year, following two pilot sessions last year.

On the 21st, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family conducted 'Organizational Culture Improvement Competency Training' for HR managers from over 60 companies at Lotte Tower in Seoul.
[Photo by Park Joon-yi]

However, a review of budget submission documents to the National Assembly on the 22nd revealed that the government's active measures to realize gender equality have been reduced compared to before. Under Article 20 of the 'Framework Act on Gender Equality,' the Ministry has been running the 'Gender Balance Inclusive Growth Partnership' project since 2019 to support system design, education, and other efforts for gender balance within companies. It selected willing companies with 30 or more regular employees and fully covered costs for customized consulting, education, and follow-up management. The newly implemented personnel training did not include company-specific application plans or follow-up management beyond lectures.

Starting this year, the Ministry cut the entire 400 million won budget for operating the Gender Balance Inclusive Growth Partnership and allocated 100 million won for supporting the development of systems related to spreading diversity within companies, such as HR manager training.

The change in project implementation appears to be influenced by the change in budget scale. This year, the Ministry increased the proportion of the family sector budget while reducing the budget shares for women's rights, violence, and youth sectors. According to the 'Budget and Fund Operation Plan Project Explanation Materials' submitted by the Ministry to the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Committee this year, the reason for cutting the female workforce development budget was explained as "Due to the nature of the project, it has become difficult to carry out the project in line with the needs of demanders, such as non-disclosure of internal company data."

[Source: National Assembly Budget and Accounts Special Committee '2024 Budget and Fund Operation Plan Project Explanation Materials']

However, a Ministry official said, "There is an impact from the budget decrease," and added, "We have thought about how to operate well within that." The Ministry has also not conducted the 'Survey on Gender Status of Executives in Listed Companies' under the same law since 2021.

An HR manager who attended the training said, "I thought it was necessary to introduce a recruitment system applying the concept of diversity within the company, so I attended the lecture," and added, "I hope the government operates this as mandatory training to improve awareness among leaders and managers of each company."