[K Population Strategy] CJ CheilJedang, 1 in 5 Executives Are Women... Are Regular Employees Only Men?

CJ CheilJedang Ranks 20th in Top 100 Companies for Gender Equality
Maintains Over 20% Female Executive Ratio
Gender Gap in Regular Employees Persists for Years
Vacancy from Resigned Female Inside Director Remains a Challenge

The total number of executives at CJ CheilJedang, the leading food company in South Korea, was 174 as of last year. Among them, 35 were female executives, accounting for 20.1% of the total. This not only tops the industry but also significantly exceeds the proportion of female executives in major domestic companies. According to a survey conducted last year by Unico Search, a global headhunting specialist firm, on the status of female executives in the top 100 domestic companies, the proportion of female executives among all executives in these companies is around 5%. CJ CheilJedang has maintained a female executive ratio of over 20% since 2021, about four times higher than other surveyed companies. This reflects the group’s talent development philosophy that anyone can become a leader regardless of age, tenure, or rank, as long as they have capability and will. On the other hand, the proportion of male regular employees, which indicates employment stability, remains overwhelmingly high, and this imbalance has persisted for years, posing a barrier to establishing a culture of gender equality.

Regular Employees Ratio 7 to 3, Low Compared to Other Industries

On the 14th, CJ CheilJedang ranked 20th overall in the '2024 Asia Economy Top 100 Companies Gender Equality Comprehensive Score' compiled by this newspaper. Based on last year’s business reports published by each company, the proportion of women relative to men was converted into scores, resulting in a total of 27.75 points in key evaluation categories such as number of regular employees (3.5 points), average tenure (7.75 points), salary (8.5 points), internal directors (7 points), outside directors (0 points), and family-friendly certification (1 point).

Compared to IT and financial companies that scored 5 to 6 points in the number of regular employees category, CJ CheilJedang’s score in this area is relatively low. Portals, securities firms, and banks generally have similar or higher proportions of female regular employees compared to males, whereas CJ CheilJedang’s female regular employee ratio increased only about 3 percentage points from 25.75% in 2019 to 28.76% last year, remaining below 30% over the past five years.

An industry insider commented, "Since CJ CheilJedang has focused on food manufacturing, the proportion of male employees has traditionally been overwhelmingly high in production, sales, and sales management roles. However, as the global market expands and the company ventures into new businesses such as bio, demand for women with expertise, including research positions, is expected to increase."

In fact, over the past five years, the growth rate of regular female employees was 30.85%, more than twice that of males at 12.46%. However, due to the large initial gap, the proportion has not narrowed. As of last year, out of CJ CheilJedang’s total 8,541 regular employees, 6,085 were male and 2,456 were female. Conversely, among 71 contract workers, 29 were male and 42 were female, showing a higher proportion of female contract employees.

No Female Directors Again... Challenge of a Single-Gender Board

CJ CheilJedang appointed its first female internal director in 2021, 68 years after the group’s founding. Kim So-young, an internal female executive and head of the AN Business Division (Vice President), joined the board, earning points in the internal director category of the gender equality comprehensive score. However, Kim recently resigned, leaving the position vacant. Whether the company will fill this seat with another woman is a matter of interest.

Kim was reappointed at the regular shareholders’ meeting in March this year after a three-year term but resigned in August due to personal reasons and is currently on sabbatical. CJ CheilJedang’s board has shifted from seven to six members (two internal directors and four outside directors). While it meets Article 542-8 of the Commercial Act, which requires at least three outside directors and a majority of directors to be outside directors, it no longer complies with the key corporate governance indicator that the board members should not be of a single gender.

A business insider said, "Although one internal director has left, the current board composition of CJ CheilJedang does not violate the articles of incorporation. However, companies must periodically disclose whether they comply with key governance indicators, which are also used to evaluate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) metrics. Therefore, there is a possibility that the company will add a female member to the board in the future."

Salaries Exceed Industry Average... Family-Friendly Policies 'Good'

CJ CheilJedang received relatively good evaluations in the salary category. The wage level of female employees compared to male employees at the company’s domestic headquarters was 87.1% in 2021, 86.3% in 2022, and 87.2% in 2023, higher than other companies where the ratio is around 60-70%.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system, last year CJ CheilJedang’s average employee salary was 75 million KRW, about 20 million KRW higher than the average salary of 56.28 million KRW among nine food companies with annual sales exceeding 3 trillion KRW. From 2019 to 2023, the company’s employee salary growth rate was similar for men (35.09%) and women (34%).

CJ CheilJedang also operates various family-friendly policies to prevent employee turnover related to life events such as pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare. The group provides benefits exceeding legal standards for 20 out of 26 support items related to employees’ life cycles. For example, employees can take up to six months of infertility leave during pregnancy preparation and receive support for infertility treatment costs. During pregnancy, employees can apply for pregnancy leave of 1 to 10 months in addition to parental leave. During childcare, employees can entrust their children to CJ Kidsville, the company’s workplace daycare center, and use the 'Parental Leave Plus' system, which allows an additional leave of up to one year after using parental leave.

As a result, most eligible employees use parental leave and return to work without leaving the company. According to CJ CheilJedang’s sustainability management report, the return-to-work rate after parental leave was 93.8% for men and 93% for women last year. The retention rate one year after returning to work was 96% for men and 92.2% for women. The number of employees using maternity protection programs has steadily increased. Male employees applying for reduced working hours during childcare rose from 27 in 2021 to 62 last year, and male employees taking child enrollment care leave increased from 209 to 228 during the same period.

Additionally, company employees can autonomously choose their workspaces by utilizing 'CJ Work ON,' a CJ Group-operated hub office, and six other hub offices. A CJ CheilJedang official explained, "This is intended to reduce commuting time, improve work efficiency, reduce work fatigue, and create a comfortable and vibrant organizational culture."