4 in 10 Seoul women returning to work after career breaks face lower pay, longer job searches than men

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Women in Seoul who return to work after career breaks for pregnancy, childbirth, or caregiving face a steep “motherhood penalty,” as they are more likely than men to start new jobs with lower pay and after a longer job search, a report showed Sunday.

According to a report released by the Seoul Foundation of Women & Family, 42.5 percent of women who took a career break and later found a new job saw their wages fall compared with their previous positions. In contrast, only 25 percent of men in the same situation reported earning less. The analysis is based on a survey of 2,754 employed Seoul residents aged 19 to 64.

The time it took to find employment was equally stark. Women spent an average of 48.4 months securing a new job after a care-related break, more than double the 20.4 months recorded for men. Researchers noted that these breaks result in long-term career interruptions for women, cementing gender gaps in both pay and job stability.

A notable finding in the report is the perceived improvement in work-life balance.

While 32.2 percent of women said their work-life balance improved in their new jobs — double the 15.4 percent of men — the report warns that this is often a “forced trade-off” rather than a genuine improvement. Due to a lack of social support for caregiving, many women opt for roles with greater flexibility, even at the cost of lower wages and slower career growth.

Beyond the immediate challenges of re-entry, the data confirms persistent structural inequalities that permeate the labor market.

Women’s average monthly wages remain significantly lower at 2.87 million won ($2,180), compared to the 3.88 million won earned by their male counterparts.

This wage gap is partly driven by workplace size. Some 56.3 percent of women are employed in smaller businesses with fewer than 50 employees, while nearly 54 percent of men work in larger, more stable organizations.

Furthermore, workplace culture continues to penalize those who prioritize family, with 25.9 percent of women reporting negative evaluations for using parental leave or reduced hours — nearly double the 14.8 percent reported by men.

These economic penalties act as a powerful deterrent in a country already grappling with the world’s lowest fertility rate, which fell to a record low of 0.72 in 2023. The rate has shown slight signs of a rebound but remains far below the replacement level of 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population.

“The report confirms that many women still experience career breaks during childbirth and childrearing, and continue to face difficulties finding new jobs when they seek re-employment,” the report concluded, urging city policies to be “redesigned to narrow gender gaps and address structural inequality at its core.”