[2025 Gender Equality Index] The Glass Ceiling Remains... Finding Female Inside Directors Is Like Looking for a Needle in a Haystack

A Look at the Boards of Major Companies
Only 10 Out of Top 100 Companies Have Female Inside Directors
Zero Female Inside Directors at 37 Financial Firms
Female Outside Directors Rise from 6% to 24% in Five Years

Although a corporation is owned by its shareholders, actual management and major decision-making are led by the board of directors. Registered directors, appointed by the shareholders, bear ultimate responsibility for the company's operations. Therefore, the composition of the board reflects a company's leadership, management philosophy, and vision. So what do the boards of major Korean companies look like? According to the Gender Equality Index survey, the "glass ceiling" remains thick, and there is still a long way to go.

Only 10 Out of Top 100 Companies Have Female Inside Directors

Among the top 100 listed companies surveyed for the Gender Equality Index, only 10 had at least one female inside director. As of the end of last year, Naver was the only company with two female inside directors. Alongside CEO Choi Sooyoun, Chae Sunjoo also served as an inside director, but Chae stepped down in March this year when her term expired. Currently, Naver founder Lee Haejin has returned as an inside director.

A significant number of female inside directors come from owner families. Examples include Lee Boojin, CEO of Hotel Shilla; Cho Hyunmin, President of Hanjin; and Lim Sangmin, Vice President of Daesang. Well-known CEOs include Choi Sooyoun, as well as Chung Junga, CEO of Kakao, who ranked first in this year's Gender Equality Index, and Lee Jeongae, CEO of LG Household & Health Care, who topped the index last year. Chung Junga, appointed as CEO of Kakao in March 2023, also serves as the sole chair of the CA Council, leading management reforms. Lee Jeongae became the first female CEO in LG Group's history. Both CEOs' current terms run until March next year.

Lee Sunyoung, head of the commerce division at CJ ENM, was the most recently appointed female professional manager among the top 100 companies, taking office in November last year. She is the second female affiliate CEO within CJ Group, following Lee Sunjeong, CEO of CJ Olive Young, making her appointment especially significant. Other female executives who have joined the board as inside directors include Seo Youngjoo, head of technology research at SL; Song Hyojin, head of finance at Lotte Chilsung Beverage; and Yeo Myeonghee, CFO and CRO of LG Uplus.

6% to 24%: Remarkable Increase in Female Outside Directors

Unlike inside directors, there has been a clear trend of change in the appointment of outside directors. Five years ago, in 2020, only 36 of the top 100 companies had female outside directors, and women accounted for just 5.9% of all outside directors. Only two companies had boards where women made up more than half of the outside directors.

Now, it is faster to count the companies without female outside directors. As of the end of last year, only 14 companies had no female outside directors, and the average proportion had nearly quadrupled to 23.8%. Eight companies had boards where women made up the majority of outside directors. Notably, at Kia, three out of five outside directors were women, making it the only company among the top 100 where women comprised more than half of the outside directors.

However, some companies still had "zero" female directors. As of the reference date, nine companies?including CJ CheilJedang, Hyundai Corporation, Hyosung TNC, Kumho Tire, GS Global, KG Steel, KCC, Taihan Electric Wire, and Kolon Global?had no women among either inside or outside directors. Among these, three companies?CJ CheilJedang, KG Steel, and Taihan Electric Wire?appointed female outside directors at their regular shareholders' meetings in March this year, ending their "zero" status.

No Female Inside Directors in the Financial Sector

Among the 37 financial companies surveyed for the Gender Equality Index, as of the end of last year, not a single one had a female inside director. The most recent case was Park Junglim, former CEO of KB Securities, who served from 2019 to 2023. Since then, there have been no further appointments of female inside directors.

In contrast, there was some representation of women among outside directors. One out of every five (21.71%) outside directors in the financial sector was a woman. Hana Card, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, and Woori Bank each recorded a 50% female representation among outside directors, ranking first overall in the Gender Equality Index. However, there were still seven financial companies with no female outside directors. These included three regional banks (Busan Bank, Jeonbuk Bank, Gwangju Bank), two credit card companies (Woori Card, Hyundai Card), an internet bank (K Bank), and a securities company (KB Securities).

This situation negatively impacted the overall Gender Equality Index for the financial sector. Looking at the scores of the top companies in each evaluation category, the development category (Woori Bank, 14 points) scored lower than employment (KB Kookmin Bank, 20.5 points), compensation (IM Bank, 17 points), and work-life balance (K Bank, 16.75 points).

However, it is positive that the appointment of female outside directors continues to increase. In 2024, eight financial companies saw an increase in the proportion of female outside directors. Among these, five companies?Gyeongnam Bank, IM Bank, BC Card, Woori Bank, and KB Insurance?appointed female outside directors for the first time, after having none the previous year. Woori Bank drew attention by appointing Lee Kyunghee, advisor at Kim & Jang Law Office, and Choi Yoonjung, professor of economics at Yonsei University.

The unique glass ceiling in the financial sector is not limited to companies included in the Gender Equality Index survey. In March, the National Office and Financial Services Workers' Union (Office & Financial Union) analyzed data on female registered executives at financial companies with assets exceeding 2 trillion won, obtained through the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Hyunjeong. The analysis found that 26 out of 83 companies had no female registered executives at all.

Oh Heejung, head of the women's committee at the Office & Financial Union, stated, "The glass ceiling that discriminates against women's promotions in financial companies remains unbroken," and emphasized, "It is necessary to revise the special provision on board gender composition in the Capital Markets Act to apply to companies with total assets of 1 trillion won or more, and to introduce institutional mechanisms such as gender quotas, as implemented in Norway, France, Belgium, and Germany, to address discrimination."

'Visible Change' and the 'Invisible Barrier'

The fact that corporate diversity leads to better performance has already been proven by numerous international studies. In 2023, Morgan Stanley reported that companies with higher gender diversity outperformed those with lower diversity by an average of 1.6%.

It is encouraging that Korean companies are gradually changing, particularly in the appointment of outside directors. However, there is still criticism that gender diversity remains lacking in positions with real decision-making authority, such as CEOs and inside directors. According to Deloitte's Global Board Program report "Women in the Boardroom: A Global Perspective," an analysis of the boards of 18,000 companies in 50 countries in 2023 found that women made up only 8.8% of board members in Korean companies. This is significantly lower than the global average of 23.3%.

Kim Hanseok, head of the Center for Corporate Governance Development at Deloitte Korea, emphasized in the report, "Expanding diversity on boards improves overall corporate governance, enhances the effectiveness of board oversight of management, and increases accounting transparency." He added, "Listed companies in Korea with total assets of 2 trillion won or more cannot have boards composed of a single gender. Going forward, we expect the proportion of women participating in board activities in Korea to continue to increase." It is time to move beyond simply filling quotas and to achieve genuine gender balance in overall leadership structures.

Editor's NoteThe "Asia Economy Gender Equality Index," launched to assess the utilization of female talent and gender equality efforts at major Korean companies and to promote work-life balance, marks its 10th anniversary this year. The Gender Equality Index has served as a catalyst for fostering a culture of inclusion and coexistence within companies. Marking its tenth year, Asia Economy has adjusted evaluation criteria and methods and enhanced its analysis framework to improve the objectivity and credibility of the index. As the values of sustainability and diversity grow in importance, we hope the Gender Equality Index will continue to serve as a compass for companies.