'Glass wall needs to be smashed, along with ceiling'

Female leaders in corporate sector call for men to share understanding, offer support

By Kim Bo-eun

The system of gender quotas remains highly contested by men, and some women also contend that it does them no good, as it reinforces the idea that they need affirmative action to advance up the corporate ladder.

However, four female leaders in the corporate world say these thoughts are based on a misunderstanding of the system.

"Female employees tell me that a gender-based quota system is unnecessary, that they will be able to climb up the corporate ladder based on their capabilities," CJ CheilJedang Executive Vice President Min Hee-kyung said in a roundtable discussion with The Korea Times, Oct. 20. "However, structurally, most companies have deprived female employees of gaining the same footing in advancing to top positions."

At CJ CheilJedang, the food and bio arm of CJ Group, women account for 18 percent of executives, which is among the highest ratios at consumer goods companies here. But most of them have spent decades in only marketing or R&D, Min said.

"There are no generalists, who have worked for at least three key divisions, which is necessary to advance to top positions," she said. "As a result, there are no women in the pool qualified for the CEO position in the first place, which is because women don't get the same training opportunities for growth."

Deutsche Bank Korea Managing Director Park Hyun-nam agreed.

"The problem is the dichotomous way of thinking ― that women are meticulous so that they are fit to serve in the back office and that men should be at the front office devising strategies," Park said.

"The issue is that the division that sees major promotions is the front office, where women are not sent."

KB Securities CEO Park Jeong-rim echoed this view.

"It is crucial to smash the glass wall that exists at the lower level, along with female executives breaking the glass ceiling," said Park.

"Female employees in managerial positions should be provided the opportunity to serve in front office positions, such as in strategy and finance in order for them to advance to key executive positions."

Park said the quota system exists not to appoint underqualified women to fill numbers, but to provide opportunities of advancement to competent women who have been overlooked in a male-dominant system.

Kim Sang-kyung, who heads the Korea International Finance Institute and doubles as the chairwoman of the Korea Network of Women in Finance, said the status quo is due to the inclination of men to protect the positions they have kept so far.

"Unless opportunities are created for women, the situation will be difficult to change," she said.

Reverse discrimination?

As a means to adapt to the growing trend of improving diversity at executive levels, companies have begun initiating leadership programs for female employees.

This, however, has been met with a backlash from male employees who call it reverse discrimination.

"Leadership training is necessary for both genders," KB's Park said.

"Women may need to be instilled with the idea of being braver and more ambitious, while men may need to be taught about paying more attention to detail."

Deutsche Bank's Park said, "Men are important when it comes to gender issues. This is why a few years back we had a conference themed 'Men matter.'"

While the theme for the forum on women in business drew some controversy, Park said "This was intended to show that without common understanding and support from men, it would be difficult to push for gender initiatives."

Female leaders in the corporate sector are present at a roundtable discussion hosted by The Korea Times in downtown Seoul, Oct. 20. From left are Deutsche Bank Korea Managing Director Park Hyun-nam, KB Securities CEO Park Jeong-rim, Korea Network of Women in Finance Chairwoman Kim Sang-kyung and CJ CheilJedang Executive Vice President Min Hee-kyung. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Why is gender equality necessary?

Diversity and inclusivity have increasingly been championed, after the financial crisis of 2008.

"The corporate world has become aware that having a certain gender concentrated in leadership may lead to biased thinking," Kim said.

"Previously, achieving gender diversity was approached from an ethical perspective, but after companies embraced diversity, they realized it also makes sense from a business perspective."

KB's Park said "What we need to avoid is herd mentality."

"Companies need people with different DNA and ways of thinking to comprise boards and leadership positions and women are able to bring this to male-dominant organizations," she said.

"We are not saying that women would not engage in herd thinking and that they are always ethical and rational. But I am sad to say that women have not ever been put to that test, because they have never been the dominant gender in leadership positions."

A McKinsey report on gender diversity in 2018 states companies with executive teams representing the top 25 percent in terms of gender diversity among 1,000 major firms were 21 percent more likely to perform profitably.

"Formerly, socially responsible investment (SRI) funds did not show superior performance, but given the growing trend toward environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) values and the focus on diversity in governance, ESG funds have been outperforming the benchmark," KB's Park said, referring to a report from the brokerage's research center.

To have more women in key positions, there needs to be more women in the workforce.

This can also be approached from the perspective of tackling Korea's shrinking working population and slowing economy, owing to low fertility rates and an aging society.

In 2017, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagard said at a conference in Seoul that a rise in the proportion of women in Korea's workforce could boost the country's GDP by 10 percent.

"My former boss once said Korea does not have much natural resources, but has two areas of potential for further economic growth," Park of Deutsche Bank said.

"One is women, as Korea still has yet to tap into talented female human resources, and the other, reunification with North Korea ― he said these two may determine the future of Korea," she said.

Progress in Korea

Korea is slowly seeing change.

The first female CEO of a local brokerage ― KB's Park ― was appointed last year. Last week, Citibank's Korean unit appointed Senior Executive Vice President Yoo Myung-soon as its first female CEO. Yoo became the second female CEO of a major bank here.

"When I founded the Korea Network of Women in Finance in 2003, this was a time when the appointment of female heads of bank branches made headlines," Kim said.

"Seventeen years forward, we now see news articles when female executives are appointed. We have seen progress, but female branch heads still account for less than 10 percent."

"Progress is slower in the manufacturing sector," Min said. "Companies need to implement a system under which it is ensured female candidates are included when a pool of candidates is drawn up for a certain position."

Deutsche Bank's Park, who was appointed the first female head of a global investment bank's local branch in 2013, said "We need a quota that can make up for the career gap women undergo due to childbirth and childcare, until we reach a certain percentage of women in senior executive positions."

Problem also lies with women

The ratio of women joining the workforce at entry level is now around 50 percent, but the gender ratio falls drastically in the upper rungs of the corporate ladder.

This is attributed to the structure which bars women from climbing up, but also to their lack of taking initiatives to break the ceiling, Kim said.

"While childbirth and childcare are barriers, there is a tendency for women to not challenge themselves."

Deutsche Bank's Park said, "I think this is because many women think, 'if I quit, I can live as a stay-at-home mom' ― given their husbands work."

KB's Park said women need to take a more proactive attitude.

"You are not going to get far by having the attitude of simply doing what you are told to do," she said.

"Female employees need to be more desperate for change. You need to stop trying to be graceful. You need to be hungry. There are so many competitors out there."