[K Population Strategy] Top Securities Firms Also Pass with Flying Colors in Gender Equality

Year-Round Project - 'Gender Equality Is the Answer'
Samsung Securities, No.1 in Gender Equality in Industry & No.2 in Finance Sector
Mirae Asset Securities, Only Industry Firm with Double-Digit Female Executives
Korea Investment & Securities, No.1 in Female Tenure and Salary Levels in Industry

The securities industry has long been regarded as having a relatively solid glass ceiling within the financial sector, but recent changes are emerging. The number of female executives is increasing, and the length of service of female employees continues to rise. This is the result of securities firms' efforts to create a work environment favorable to women. In particular, leading securities firms in the industry are demonstrating excellence in gender equality, taking the lead in raising the level of gender equality in the securities industry.

Samsung Securities Ranks at the Top of the Industry in Gender Equality

Samsung Securities recorded top-tier performance in the industry not only in its core securities business but also in gender equality. Based on an increase in the overall proportion of female employees, various types of flexible work systems, and equal pay levels between genders, the length of service for female employees is on an upward trend.

On the 16th, Asia Economy compiled the 'Asia Economy Gender Equality Comprehensive Score' for 36 domestic financial companies, revealing that Samsung Securities scored the highest among securities firms. The steady increase in the length of service of female employees over the past three years?11.32 years in 2021, 11.63 years in 2022, and 12.18 years in 2023?demonstrates this.

Notably, Samsung Securities received higher scores than other securities firms in the evaluation category of 'proportion of female outside directors.' To expand female representation in the workplace and ensure diversity in board composition, Samsung Securities appointed attorney Choi Hye-ri from the Sanji Law Firm as an audit committee member and outside director in 2022. Attorney Choi, Samsung Securities' first female outside director, has served as a judge at the Seoul Civil District Court, Seoul Family Court, a standing mediator at the Seoul Court Mediation Center, and a standing commissioner at the National Human Rights Commission. She currently serves as the chair of the remuneration committee and the internal transactions committee, and participates in the audit committee, executive nomination committee, and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) committee.

Samsung Securities plans to achieve a 50% overall female employee ratio and approximately 30% female managerial ratio by 2030 to secure female leadership. In fact, over the past three years, the number of female employees among all employees increased by 31 (0.6 percentage points), and female middle managers increased by 6 (2.3 percentage points).

Samsung Securities is a family-friendly certified company recognized by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. It operates various work arrangements such as flexible working hours, telecommuting, and part-time work. In particular, employees using the selective working hours system can adjust their working hours themselves based on an average of 40 hours per week.

Additionally, it offers up to two years of parental leave and reduced working hours during childcare periods. The company has established independent breastfeeding and milk expression rooms on-site, and its in-house daycare prioritizes allocation for female and single-parent employees with children aged 1 to 5, alleviating childcare burdens. Other benefits include support for children's tuition fees, family health checkups, family care leave, and paternity leave.

Pay levels are generally equal between genders. As of the end of 2023, the ratio of average basic salary for women to men was 1.04 for executives, 0.98 for managers, and 1.01 for non-managers, showing minimal gender-based differences.

Participation of female employees in in-house talent development programs aimed at enhancing professional skills is increasing. Female employees at Samsung Securities participated in 92,761 hours in 2021, 101,847 hours in 2022, and 109,514 hours in 2023 for self-development and career growth learning. Samsung Securities provides certifications for financial product sales and investment management, financial data analysis, leadership, liberal arts, and foreign language education through offline and online learning platforms.

Meanwhile, Samsung Securities conducts satisfaction surveys among all employees and reflects the results in education and welfare systems. Recently, satisfaction among female employees rose from 72.5 points in 2021 to 73.1 points in 2022 but slightly dipped to 70.3 points in 2023. Samsung Securities plans to analyze data by gender and rank to establish personalized improvement plans and focus on managing areas needing enhancement.

Mirae Asset Securities: The Only Firm with Double-Digit Female Executives in the Industry

As a leading domestic securities firm, Mirae Asset Securities is also at the forefront of gender equality in the industry. Mirae Asset Securities has the highest number of female executives among securities firms, with the number increasing annually. This is due to Mirae Asset Securities' active efforts to nurture female talent through various systems.

According to the '2024 Gender Equality Comprehensive Score' compiled by Asia Economy, Mirae Asset Securities ranked 6th among 36 financial companies and 2nd among securities firms. It received favorable scores in most evaluation categories. Mirae Asset Securities ranked 2nd narrowly behind in the outside director category. Although the number of female outside directors was the same, the ranking differed based on their proportion.

Mirae Asset Securities has the most female executives in the securities industry. As of the end of last year, the number of female executives was 13, the only double-digit figure among major securities firms. This more than doubled from 6 in 2019 over five years. The proportion of female executives has also steadily increased, from 5.45% in 2019 to 8.96% in 2022, and 9.35% last year.

The group as a whole is also committed to promoting female talent. Mirae Asset Group has attracted significant attention in the market by appointing many female executives during annual personnel evaluations. In last year's personnel changes, 8 female executives were promoted, accounting for 13% of the total. In 2022, 14 female executives were promoted.

Mirae Asset Securities is dedicated to nurturing female talent through various systems. To create an environment where women can work with peace of mind, it operates diverse welfare programs related to pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare. For example, it grants paid leave exceeding legal standards to employees with infertility, guarantees 12 weeks (90 days) of maternity leave for primary caregivers, and 2 weeks (10 days) for secondary caregivers. It also supports the use of parental leave during pregnancy or after childbirth, provides separate parental leave pay, medical expense subsidies related to childbirth, and childbirth congratulatory money to reduce childcare burdens. Notably, the parental leave period, previously limited to one year, has been extended to 1 year and 6 months without conditions related to the spouse's parental leave. Childbirth congratulatory money and medical expense subsidies for infertility treatment have also been expanded.

For the health of female employees and pregnant women, health and screening leave are granted with pay, and various efforts are made to ensure a family-friendly work environment, including reduced working hours during pregnancy and time off for fetal checkups. To support childcare, 10 days of family care leave are provided annually, and since 2011, a joint workplace childcare facility (daycare center) has been operated to ease employees' childbirth and childcare burdens. Additionally, the Center One building houses nursing facilities and women-only lounges to improve the post-childbirth work environment. During childcare periods, the company encourages reduced working hours according to employees' needs.

In 2023, a total of 202 employees at Mirae Asset Securities used parental leave, with a return-to-work rate of 97% after leave.

Korea Investment & Securities Scores Highest in Salary Category

Korea Investment & Securities, a leading domestic securities firm, implements childbirth and childcare-related systems tailored to life stages to enable employees to focus on work regardless of gender. As a result, Korea Investment & Securities ranked 4th among all securities firms in the gender equality category surveyed by Asia Economy.

For work-life balance, an environment where employees can focus on work while confidently raising children must be established. Korea Investment & Securities operates three workplace daycare centers. It indirectly operates the KRX (Korea Exchange) daycare and the Korea Financial Investment Association daycare as a member company, while directly operating the Korea 3M & Korea Investment & Securities daycare. Considering that despite severe low birth rates, one out of ten workplaces neglects to install workplace daycare centers, Korea Investment & Securities' efforts toward gender equality are evident. Contrary to the perception that the securities industry favors men, Korea Investment & Securities has a relatively high proportion of female regular employees compared to other securities firms. In fact, Korea Investment & Securities received the highest score among securities firms in the regular employee count category surveyed by Asia Economy.

Leave systems supporting employees' work life before and after childbirth are well established. According to Korea Investment & Securities, pregnancy checkup leave, prenatal and postnatal leave, parental leave, infertility treatment leave, miscarriage leave, and spouse miscarriage leave are provided beyond legal requirements, and flexible working hours are granted for pregnant employees' health before and after childbirth.

Specifically, employees expecting a singleton can take 120 days of leave, while those expecting twins or more can take 150 days. To assist with childcare after childbirth (including miscarriage), overtime work is restricted for one year: no more than 2 hours per day, 6 hours per week, and 150 hours per year. This creates an environment where women can continue working while balancing childcare. Consequently, many female employees continue working after childbirth. This is why Korea Investment & Securities received the highest score among securities firms in the length of service category for female employees.

The salary category also received relatively high scores. Compared to Mirae Asset Securities (7.75 points) and Samsung Securities (7.50 points), Korea Investment & Securities scored 8.75 points, the highest among the three. The salary category refers to the ratio of average female salary to average male salary, with higher scores indicating smaller pay gaps between men and women.

The outside director category received relatively low scores. Currently, the only female outside director at Korea Investment & Securities is Professor Choi Soo-mi of the Department of Business Administration at Chungnam National University. Korea Investment & Securities appointed its first female outside director since its establishment in 2022. As an unlisted company, Korea Investment & Securities is not legally required under the Capital Markets Act amendment to include female experts on its board. However, this move is interpreted as a response to calls for increasing female outside directors to enhance board diversity.

Editor's NoteDo the 'top companies' in each domestic industry not only have work-life balance systems but also a corporate culture that encourages their active use? In April, Asia Economy announced the '2024 Asia Economy Gender Equality Comprehensive Score' based on a full survey of business reports over the past five years from the top 100 listed companies by sales and 36 major financial firms. It quantified the gender employment status and work-life balance levels of major companies, ranking them from 1st to 100th (and 1st to 36th for financial firms). However, high scores and well-established systems do not necessarily mean 'active realization of work-life balance.' A culture that encourages the use of these systems without hesitation is essential for well-established systems to shine. Therefore, Asia Economy deeply examined various aspects that are not reflected in the index and are difficult to quantify but reveal the actual use of systems among the top companies in each domestic sector. This approach aims not only to assess the current state of leading companies in each field but also to suggest directions for relatively underdeveloped small and medium-sized enterprises starting from their systems.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.