Females Overtake Males in College Admission Rates

By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

Men used to be the sole breadwinners in the typical Korean family. Women typically stayed home, taking care of the children and other household affairs.

But this is no longer the case, with the majority of young women receiving higher education, securing jobs and attaining financial independence.

Many women are prioritizing their career over raising a family. They even outpace their male counterparts in some professional fields, emerging as an essential part of the nation's highly-educated and sophisticated labor force.

Reflecting women's growing role in Korean society, a larger portion of female high school students went on to universities than their male counterparts last year for the first time in history, Statistics Korea said Sunday.

It said 82.4 percent of female high-school students entered universities in 2010, higher than the 81.6 percent for males. It was the first time the ratio was in the females' favor since the statistical office began compiling data.

In 1990, only 32.4 percent of young women moved on to university, but the ratio has continued on an upward curve over the past two decades, reaching as high as 83.5 percent in 2008.

About 81.9 percent of all high school students entered universities in 2009, down from 83.8 percent the previous year.

Reflecting the growing educational achievements among females over the years, more women have passed the nation's bar exam and state-run tests designed to employ high-ranking public servants. Women are exerting greater influence in the corporate world as well.

According to the Ministry of Justice, 356 females passed last year's bar exam, accounting for 35.3 percent of the total, down from 44.3 percent in 2008. Out of 89 judicial trainees appointed as judges this year, 63 were women, accounting for 71 percent of the total, compared with 72 percent in 2009 and 70 percent in 2008.

Additionally, 54 judicial female trainees were appointed as prosecutors, accounting for 56.8 percent of the total.

Men dominated the bar exam until the late 1990s, but since 2000, a larger number of women have been passing one of the most difficult state-run tests.

The situation is the same for other government-administered exams, with an increasing number of women passing civil servant examinations to become either diplomats or mid-level government officials.

But in 2009, fewer women passed the civil servant exams, partly due to the worldwide economic slump.

According to the Civil Service Commission, the government's human resources management agency, out of 244 who passed a civil servant recruitment exam last year, 114 were female, accounting for 51.2 percent of the total, down from 55.7 percent a year earlier.

To celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women, female rights advocacy groups here will host a range of events nationwide Monday to celebrate the 102nd anniversary of ``International Women's Day.''

Unlike highly-educated female professionals, a growing number of low-income and uneducated women continue to face difficulties in finding jobs, with many giving up the hunt and staying home.

The Ministry of Labor said Sunday that the economically-inactive female population reached 10.42 million in 2009, up 286,000 from a year earlier, the largest since it began compiling data in 1962. The figure was nearly two times more than the economically-inactive male population of 5.28 million.

Economically inactive refers to those who are neither working nor looking for a job due to housekeeping or childcare responsibilities, old age, study, health problems or other reasons.

Only 49.2 percent of Korean women were engaged in economic activities, down from 50 percent over the one-year period. The number of female employees totaled 9.77 million, down 103,000 from a year earlier, with male workers increasing by 31,000, indicating women were more affected by the global economic slump.

leehs@koreatimes.co.kr

여학생 대학진학률 남학생 추월

1990년 이후 계속 높아져만 오던 고교생들의 대학 진학률이 처음 하락한 가운데 여학생들의 진학률이 남학생을 처음으로 추월, 남녀 진학률이 역전됐다.

7일 통계청의 '2009 한국의 사회지표'에 실린 교육통계에 따르면 지난해 고등학생의 대학 진학률은 81.9%로, 2008년의 83.8%에 비해 1.9%포인트 떨어졌다.

일반계와 전문계고를 포함한 초중등학교법상 고교의 졸업자중 전문대학.4년제 일반대학.교육대학 등에 가는 진학자가 차지하는 비율인 대학 진학률이 떨어진 것은 1990년에 33.2%로 전년의 35.2%보다 떨어진 이후 처음이다.

이후 대학 진학률은 뜨거운 교육열을 따라 1994년에 45.3%로 40%대에 올라서고, 1995년에 51.4%, 1997년에 60.1%, 2001년에 70.5%, 2004년에 81.3% 등으로 빠르게 높아져 왔다.

성별로는 여학생의 대학 진학률이 작년에 82.4%로, 남학생의 81.6%를 처음 앞질렀다.

항상 남학생에 뒤졌던 여학생의 대학 진학률이 높아진 것은 최근 외무고시 합격자 절반 이상을 여성이 차지하는 등 여성들의 사회 진출이 크게 활발해지고 있는 현상과도 무관치 않은 것으로 보인다.

여학생의 대학 진학률은 1986년에는 32.6%로 남학생에 7.1%포인트나 떨어지는 등 격차를 보여오다 최근인 2006년에는 1.8%포인트, 2007년에는 1.0%포인트, 2008년에는 0.5%포인트 등으로 격차를 좁혀왔다.