The 'Glass Ceiling' of South Korea's Top Company... Female Executive Ratio Still in the 'Single Digits' [K Population Strategy]

Year-round Project - 'Gender Equality is the Answer'
Samsung Electronics Has Only 108 Female Executives... 0.04% of Total Employees
Ranked 29th in Asia Economy Survey

1,485 people. Among Samsung Electronics' total 267,860 employees, the number who have held 'executive' positions is less than the top 1%. Among them, only 108 are female executives. Only 0.04% of women who passed through the eye of the needle have broken through the 'glass ceiling' of South Korea's top company to hold senior positions. Compared to the past, the absolute number and participation of female leaders have clearly increased, but considering Samsung Electronics' status as a leading domestic company, there is still room for improvement in its level of gender equality.

On the 8th, Asia Economy compiled the '2024 Top 100 Companies Gender Equality Comprehensive Score,' where Samsung Electronics, a leading domestic company, ranked 29th overall. It scored 25.5 points by combining regular employee numbers (3 points), years of service (9.75 points), salary (8.25 points), outside directors (3.5 points), inside directors (0 points), and family-friendly certification (1 point).

Even the Top Company Has '0' Female Inside Directors... Failure to Meet '10% Female Executives' Goal

Samsung Electronics' performance in gender equality indicators was largely due to the low proportion of female regular employees and the low proportion of female inside directors. Especially considering the manufacturing industry's characteristic of having a low proportion of female workers, the fact that there have been zero female inside directors for several years has been pointed out as an area needing improvement.

Samsung Electronics has maintained 11 registered executives since 2021. Among them, all five inside directors, including Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee, are male. Chairman Lee Jae-yong is an unregistered executive. Among the registered executives, only two outside directors are female. The only female president in Samsung Group is Lee Young-hee, who was appointed in 2022 as Samsung Electronics' first female president and head of the Global Marketing Office.

The steady increase in the proportion of female executives from 6.8% in 2021, 6.9% in 2022, to 7.3% in 2023 is a positive sign. However, this still seems to require improvement compared to the company's previously set goals. In its 2011 Sustainability Management Report, Samsung Electronics announced a goal to have more than 10% of executives be female within the next 10 years. At that time, there were only 13 female executives, accounting for 1.1% of all executives. Although three years have passed since the target date, the 10% goal has yet to be met.

The steady decline in the number of female regular employees is also noteworthy. Last year, the number of female employees at Samsung Electronics was 32,998, while males numbered 91,806. The proportion of female employees decreased for three consecutive years: 36.3% in 2021, 35.1% in 2022, and 33.7% in 2023.

The gender wage gap has widened further. Within Samsung Electronics' domestic workplaces, last year male employees' wages were 24.2% higher than those of female employees, an increase from 23.1% the previous year.

Increase in Female Proportion by Job Type... Parental Leave Usage Also Rising

However, the areas where women are prohibited within Samsung Electronics seem to be disappearing. Looking at job categories, the proportion of female employees has increased in some areas. Last year, the proportion of female employees in 'Sales and Marketing' was 34%, up 0.4 percentage points from 33.6% the previous year. The 'Development' job category maintained a female employee proportion of 19.2%, the same as the previous year, but this is 2 percentage points higher than in 2018 (17.2%). However, 'Manufacturing' and 'Quality & Environmental Safety' showed a decline for three consecutive years.

Samsung Electronics is also proactive in improving organizational culture and establishing systems to nurture female talent. Even before legal revisions, it has operated parental leave, infertility leave, child care leave systems, and reduced working hours policies, showing strong interest in solving the challenge of balancing work and childcare, which is often cited as the most difficult issue for women building their careers. Currently, Samsung Electronics operates 12 workplace daycare centers across eight business sites nationwide and offers paid 15-day spouse maternity leave (20 days for multiple births) and paid 5-day infertility leave.

The number of domestic employees at Samsung Electronics taking parental leave has steadily increased from 3,935 in 2021, 4,364 in 2022, to 4,477 last year. The proportion relative to total employees is also rising. Last year, 3.7% of Samsung Electronics' domestic employees took parental leave. Male employees taking parental leave numbered 1,304, a 30.5% increase from 999 in 2021. Female employees taking parental leave numbered 3,173, an 8.1% increase. The return-to-work rate after parental leave was 97.7% for men and 99.0% for women.