Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr
Glass ceiling still thick in securities industry
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By Lee Kyung-min
By Lee Kyung-min
The glass ceiling remains thick for women in the securities industry, known for its tough, male-dominated culture, data showed Monday.
According to data from Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), of 759 listed executives at Korea's top 20 brokerages, only 21, or 3 percent, were female as of September 2019.
Mirae Asset Daewoo had the highest number of female executives, four. Samsung, KB, Meritz, Kiwoom, Daishin and SK each had two female executives.
NH, Shinhan, Hana, Yuanta, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) each had one while the remaining eight had none.
The financial services industry is defined by tough, high-pressure and result-based evaluation, a mixture of qualities that tend to favor men over women, a senior industry figure said.
“Their profit is derived mostly from brokerage income, meaning workers are evaluated by their sales capabilities and customer relations,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
“Stock investors by nature are more aggressive and hard to deal with, so to speak, especially when stock prices fall. Maintaining good relationships with such volatile clients is a highly appreciated people skill, traditionally considered a strong suit of men.”
Compared to the industry, female representation is better in the banking industries.
Korea's top five commercial banks ― Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Woori, KEB Hana and NongHyup ― had a combined 118 employees whose rank is managing director or higher in 2019.
Of them, nine were women. This is still an improvement from two in 2018.
However, Korea is still struggling to shed the negative image associated with discrimination against women.
According to the glass ceiling index published 2019 by the Economist, Korea ranked 29th, the last among the 29 OECD countries surveyed. Korea has ranked at the bottom for seven consecutive years.
The bigger, longer-term problem is not a glass ceiling but a “double glass ceiling,” according to Financial Economy Institute research fellow Hyun Eun-ju.
“Nowadays firms are more willing to increase the female workforce on the higher end of the corporate ladder, which on the face of it is a good thing,” she said.
“However, the problem is whether women will be able to take the top job at financial groups, banks or other large organizations.”
Before getting ahead of ourselves, she added, becoming a listed company board director should be a crucial barometer determining whether the voices of women will be reflected in the high-level decision-making process.
“Glass ceilings have seen cracks up to certain mid-level, managerial positions. But when we look at the top decision-making body makeup, Korea has a long way to go,” she said.
Korean businesses are essentially pressured into fostering a female workforce. While not a necessarily bad outcome of the global trend putting greater value on gender equality, it certainly does not appear to be happening on its own.
“Many foreigners consider the level of gender equality and female representation one of the top criteria before making an investment. This in part has driven the improvements in gender equality. If more of this sticks, it could be used to advance social value,” she said.