Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Women breaking through glass ceiling
Women breaking through glass ceiling
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Korean women still face various hurdles and subtle discrimination in their ambition to climb to higher posts despite a marked improvement in gender equality. A global women’s equality promotion group says building international networks and learning foreign languages will provide greater leverage for Korean women to further advance their career.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Elizabeth Benham, president of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW International), said, “The BPW has a long history of empowering women.”
Established in 1930, the BPW International is a non-governmental, non-profit organization in consultative status with the United Nations.
More than 30,000 members from 96 countries on five continents develop professional leadership and business potential through networking and advocacy of the BPW. The BPW Korea held a seminar with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to discuss women’s position in corporations, Tuesday.
“I wanted to network with other women and I saw an advertisement in a local newspaper,” Benham said when asked about her first exposure to the BPW. “I loved the history, aims and international platform of the organization connecting women all around the world.”
After 22 years, she became the president of the leading female professionals’ organization, advocating the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) an initiative started by the U.N. Global Compact and United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
The seven principles include ideas such as “establishing high-level corporate leadership for gender equality” and “treating all women and men fairly at work.”
“We advocate changing cultures and attitudes in corporations and governments,” she said. “Adopting theses principles into policies will change the way women do business and work. Statistics show that return on investment for corporations are higher when they have more women on boards integrated vertically and horizontally,” Benham said. “Traditionally there were few women at the executive level, but we are no longer talking about a ‘glass ceiling.’”
The president added that, “Once the WEP is implemented, it could be a normal process for women to be at the top and we can have the deserved equity in power and decision-making roles then.”
She emphasized that the WEP does not raise reverse discrimination issues. “We want equal participation. Men and women working together yield the best result, as they have unique skills benefitting the community, corporation and country.”
Benham advised young professional women to join international networks such as the BPW.
“Because, as we all know, the world is quite small today. Technology links us very quickly, but we still need the human component and connection,” she said. “International organizations like us can propel young women into having the vision of women for the future.”
She said one could be very skilled and accomplished in her local community, but the world requires more nowadays. “Having exposure to the international component of women’s issues through organizations could be very beneficial.”
Benham also recommended young people to realize the “magic of languages.”
“Learn more than one language. It really opens up the world to you,” she said. “In your life, you will experience that there are more benefits than you could ever imagine by being able to speak more than one language.”