Women returning to the workforce
By Duncan Harrison
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The benefits of diversity in the workforce have been well established and top-performing companies typically display high levels of gender diversity. However, women who have taken a break from their career represent an underutilized talent pool which has the potential to contribute to business growth and fill skills gaps faced by employers.
In Korea, the participation of women in the workforce has continued to grow, but it is still far lower than what will be needed to sustain and grow the economy. According to a July 2016 Korea Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) report, only 52.7 percent of working-aged Korean women participate in the workforce, and with a declining birth rate and aging society, the country will face a problem if companies do not maximize the potential contributions of highly educated women.
To date, working women in Korea are still struggling to find their place as cultural barriers hinder women seeking to re-enter the workforce. In fact, many female employees who return to work either during or after raising a child are limited to part-time engagements which ultimately stymie their contribution to the Korean economy.
The Korean government has gone a long way to rectify this and public policy is not necessarily the problem as the law mandates adequate levels of paid maternity and paternity leave. One of the main issues locally is a general reluctance to accept career women, and the inability of companies to attract and engage women returning to the workforce. In essence, talented female candidates are often overlooked in a working environment which is averse to change.
At Robert Walters, creating effective strategies for attracting women with a desire to return to work begins with understanding what motivates them to return, what they want from the job and what they are looking for from the employer after a pause in their career. To find out their experiences and expectations, we conducted a survey of over 1,000 women working in professional disciplines, and 48% noted they had taken a career break while 52 percent had not.
When asked about a return to the workforce, 74 percent of women indicated a plan to come back to the same employer, while just 24 percent actually did. In terms of work flexibility, 84 percent of professionals said they would like the option to work from home, while only 39% of employers offered it.
In terms of top priorities for returning to work, the findings indicated high salary/benefits, clear career progression, good well-being initiatives and greater flexibility as most important. In the end, it is essential for employers to understand what motivates women to re-join the workforce and there are a number of strategies to help firms attract, develop and retain respective talent.
First and foremost, it is essential to understand what women returning to work look for in a job and develop a flexible recruitment process to show women they are in demand after a break. Firms should build their brand as an employer and utilize new channels to reach women taking career breaks. Flexible working policies should be considered and childcare and family friendly policies and well-being initiatives need to be developed and implemented.
With Korea facing demographic challenges in the years ahead due to a low birth rate, firms taking the proper steps to attract and engage women returning to the workplace would be a positive measure in ensuring continuing economic growth and stability.
Duncan Harrison is the Country Manager of Robert Walters Korea, one of the world’s leading specialist professional recruitment consultancies and outsourcing firms. Reach him at Duncan.harrison@robertwalters.co.kr.