Women are future growth engine: think tank

By Kang Seung-woo

Women, once seen as supporters or bystanders in the community, are expected to step up as the key growth engine in the future thanks to their heightened economic status, a local think tank said.

The LG Economic Research Institute said in its report Tuesday that women will take leading roles in changing the world in the future by actively participating in production, consumption and administration of organization.

In addition, it said that those who have a good understanding of women will succeed.

Since the global financial crisis in 2008, women have earned recognition in the labor market and entered enterprises for themselves.

According to the report, the phenomenon is attributed to rising job opportunities afforded to them and income growth related with the former reason.

Although there is still a 10 to 20 percent gap in the employment rate between men and women, it has reduced drastically thanks to the escalating employment of women aged between 20 and 30.

There was an 18 percent gap in 1998 in the 27 nations of the European Union (EU), but it went down to 12 percent in 2009.

In the United States, women’s employment rate has been steady, rising from 20 percent in the 1920s to mid-40 percent in the 2000s, while that of men suffered a steep drop from 80 percent to 50 percent during the same period, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The U.S. government agency expects that the employment rate of women will soon surpass that of men, particularly among the younger generation.

The report said that this was not limited to the surveyed countries and the entire world will see women play a more important role in the labor market.

Growing educational investment in women indicates that they will enjoy higher incomes and social status in the future.

In the United States, women represent 57 percent of university graduates and 59 percent of those who receive a master’s degree. As for Korea’s university admission rate, women marked 82.4 percent in 2009, edging men’s 81.6 percent.

In addition, the age of women who start a new business has gotten younger. As a result, women CEOs can be found more readily.

The report added that a structural change in industry has resulted in increasing the demands of the female work force.

‘여성은 미래의 성장 동력’

한때 보조자, 혹은 방관자 지위에 머물러 있던 여성들이 미래의 변화를 이끌어가는 핵심 동력으로 주목을 받고 있다.

LG 경제 연구소는 10일 미래 세상의 핵심 소비자로서, 생산의 주역으로서, 조직 운영의 중요 주체로서 여성들의 존재감과 위상이 날로 커지고 있다고 밝혔다.

게다가 미래의 여성경제 시대에는 여성, 혹은 여성의 잠재력을 잘 이해하고 행동으로 공감하는 능력을 지닌 조직들에게 유리한 시대가 될 것이라고 진단했다.

2008년 글로벌 경제위기를 거치면서 노동시장에서 여성들의 존재감이 더욱 커지고, 창업을 통해 비즈니스 일선에 직접 뛰어드는 여성들의 숫자도 크게 늘어나고 있다.