[2024 Women’s Forum] How the Asia Gender Equality Index, Completely Changed This Year, Was Calculated

9th Asia Gender Equality Index

Establishing Work-Family Balance Culture
Expanded to 136 Survey Locations

5 Years of Public Business Reports
3-Year ESG Report Analysis

To establish a culture of work-family balance, Asia Economy, which has developed and operated the 'Asia Gender Equality Index' for nine years, revamped its measurement method this year for more transparent and in-depth analysis.

First, instead of randomly selecting a total of 100 companies by industry sectors such as manufacturing, distribution & SMEs, finance & securities, construction & real estate, IT, pharmaceuticals & bio, the survey target was expanded and specified to the top 100 listed companies by sales and 36 financial companies.

Hyun Sang-soon (sixth from the left), Chairman of Asia Economy, and Kim Moon-soo (center), Minister of Employment and Labor, along with other awardees, are posing for a commemorative photo on the 30th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, at the '9th Asia Gender Equality Index Awards' hosted by Asia Economy.

The previous evaluation method, which was conducted through non-disclosed surveys, was changed to a full survey of related figures such as the number of regular employees, years of service, salary (excluding registered executives), inside directors, and outside directors through publicly disclosed business reports.

Since a culture of work-family balance in companies does not form in a short period, all business reports disclosed over the past five years were analyzed to understand continuity as well. For each of the five categories, the male-to-female ratio (%) and the increase rate (% points) over five years were each calculated on a 10-point scale (±0.25 point weighting), totaling 20 points.

The data confirmed for calculating the Gender Equality Index amounted to as many as 3,400 cases by simple calculation. The total score is out of 100 points, with higher scores indicating relatively superior companies.

To further enhance reliability, the latest three years of sustainability reports (ESG reports) were also analyzed in depth. The culture of work-family balance in companies falls under the Social aspect of social responsibility. For parts not revealed in the ESG reports, reporters conducted on-site, close coverage by meeting employees of the companies to check whether flexible working hours, male parental leave, and female leadership programs were properly implemented. They visually confirmed whether workplace daycare centers were well operated and introduced a method of on-site coverage to identify any needs, differentiating from the existing index evaluated only quantitatively.

Additionally, bonus points (1 point each) were awarded to companies certified as family-friendly by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, top family-friendly companies, and companies recognized for excellent gender employment equality by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The family-friendly certification system awards companies that exemplary operate childbearing and childcare support, flexible working systems, and family-friendly workplace culture. The top companies receive the certification after maintaining it for 15 years for large companies and 12 years for SMEs. The Ministry of Employment and Labor's excellent gender employment equality companies are those contributing to the spread of work-family balance culture and gender employment equality.

For financial companies, the survey targets were selected as banks and internet-only banks belonging to the four major financial holding companies and three regional financial holding companies (10 in total), the top 10 securities firms, the three major life insurance companies, five major fire insurance companies, and eight specialized card companies. The final list of awardees was confirmed through the advisory panel's review of the targets and excellent companies.

Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, said in his congratulatory speech, "I would like to thank all 10 companies receiving awards for operating advanced childcare-friendly systems," and added, "The government will also expand support for companies making such efforts."

The overall first place in the 9th Asia Gender Equality Index was awarded to LG Household & Health Care. LG Household & Health Care scored a total of 39.25 points, with generally high scores across categories: 5.75 points for the number of regular employees, 9.50 points for years of service, 8.00 points for salary, 10.00 points for inside directors, and 5.00 points for outside directors. It also received an additional 1 point as a family-friendly certified company by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

According to LG Household & Health Care's ESG report, the parental leave system was changed from June 2022 to allow up to two years (one year paid, one year unpaid), exceeding the legal standard of one year. Both men and women can utilize parental leave and reduced working hours during childcare regardless of gender. The return rate after parental leave is 97.3%. LG Household & Health Care received particularly high scores in the inside director category, having appointed the first female CEO from the LG Group's regular recruitment in December 2022. With women making up 54.8% of its workforce, LG Household & Health Care set a goal in its ESG report to achieve a 35% female manager ratio by next year (34.5% in 2023).

Second place went to Naver, which scored 35.50 points. Naver received 15.00 points in the inside director category, with CEO Choi Soo-yeon and External & ESG Policy Head Chae Sun-joo both being women, as listed in the business report. Naver's ESG report detailed figures related to parental leave, including the number of users by gender for maternity and parental leave, return rates after parental leave, and the retention rate of employees working more than 12 months after returning from parental leave.

Third place was taken by LG Uplus. Although its score for the number of regular employees was relatively low at 2.50 points, it compensated with 7.50 points for years of service, 9.25 points for salary, 10.00 points for inside directors, and 5.00 points for outside directors. With an additional 1 point for family-friendly company certification, it secured the final third place.

Fourth place was Kakao with 34.00 points. It earned a high ranking by scoring 12.50 points in the outside director category. In-depth coverage revealed that Kakao implements leadership programs regardless of gender, leading the establishment of a gender-equal culture.

Among financial companies, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance ranked first, placing fifth overall. It scored 33.75 points in total, with relatively high scores in years of service (11.00 points) and salary (7.75 points) compared to other companies.

Tied for sixth place with 33.25 points were Coway and Samsung Securities (second among financial companies). Coway received 15.00 points for years of service and 9.75 points for salary, while Samsung Securities earned 10.00 points in the outside director category. Both companies received additional points for family-friendly company certification.