Minister calls for gender equality in workplaces

By Kim Rahn

Realizing gender equality by having women in high-profile executive positions across both the public and private sectors is a recognized objective for Korean society, but it remains difficult for female workers to break through the glass ceiling.

The Lee Myung-bak administration is promoting a presidential pledge to implement a 30 percent quota of women executives in the public sector, said Gender Equality and Family Minister Kim Kum-lae.

As of 2010, 8.5 percent of executives in 100 public agencies were women, far short of the 30 percent target, which remains a distant ambition at government and public firms.

“The ratio is not really growing, and President Lee encouraged it again at a recent meeting of senior secretaries,” Kim said.

She said it is obligatory for all political parties to have half the number of their proportional representation candidates for the National Assembly to be women, but there are only 54 proportional representation seats of which 28 are women. Among the total 300 seats, women hold just 47 including the 28 proportional representatives, accounting for 15.7 percent of all lawmakers.

One reason why there are so few women executives is the difficulty working mothers face in a society in which the onus of childcare remains mostly on them.

Many double-income families have their children attend daycare centers, but they sometimes need babysitters, too. Moreover, others want their children to be raised at home, especially when the children are only one or two years old. For them, the ministry is providing a babysitting service.

“Working moms say even though their children are attending nursery schools, they sometimes need babysitters in case they go home later than the nursery hours, go on business trips or the children can’t go to the centers because of illness. The part-time babysitter service meets such a demand,” said the minister, who was also a working mom.

The ministry certifies the babysitters, providing 80 hours of education on childcare and 10 hours of actual training. Parents can use the service at lower-than-market rates.

The ministry is also encouraging companies to adopt policies in which workers with children can take childcare leave and have flexible working hours, so that they can achieve a better balance between their work and family life. It certifies such businesses as “family-friendly companies,” with more and more firms applying for the certification.

“Some worry that such systems may increase labor costs. But certified companies say productivity grows, because employees develop more satisfaction and loyalty and don’t quit to take other jobs,” the minister said.

Better protection of children, women

Kim also expressed regret over two recent killings: a 40 year old woman on a trekking path on Jeju Island and a 10-year-old girl in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, both crimes believed to have involved sexual assaults.

“With society experiencing rapid change, I think social safety, which used to be provided by close-knit communities, has been broken.”

As a long-term preventive measure, the minister said people must be better educated about human rights from a young age. She also pointed out that, through the media, people are exposed to too much violence too frequently.

“If people see sensational and violent incidents too often, they become desensitized to such things so they seek scenes that are even more sensational and violent. Restrictions are needed regarding such content, especially when it comes to children,” she said.

The government has adopted measures to prevent sexual offenses, especially assaults on children, and strengthened legal penalties, including the requirement for offenders to wear electronic anklets, sometimes undergoing chemical castration, and the launch of a website that holds photos and information about convicted sex offenders.

But there are aspects that these measures cannot prevent, such as the murder of the 10 year old girl, Kim said, noting many sexual crimes against schoolgirls take place on their way to and from school.

“In many Western countries, parents or guardians give their children rides to and from school, not letting the children travel alone. I was thinking that now it’s time for Korea to adopt such behavior, too.”

As the ministry has actively sought, the government is now considering applying the law to publish retrospective information about sex offenders. In the Tongyeong case, the suspect had a previous record of sex offenses, but this was not legally allowed to be published as the law allowing it into force after he had committed the offenses.