47% say gender inequality serious problem

A study on gender equality unveiled yesterday said less than half of Koreans believed sexual discrimination was a serious issue at workplaces.

In the survey of 1,000 people over age 20, gender inequality was a serious concern to about 47 percent of the respondents, said officials of the Labor Ministry that conducted the research.

It also showed eight out of 10 people saw less sexual discrimination acts at their companies compared to the past.

This is the first time that the number of people who perceived gender inequality as a serious workplace issue fell below 50 percent since the study was first conducted in 2006.

Of the female respondents, more than 34 percent said they have experienced sexual discrimination practices involving salary, promotion, educational opportunities and skill development sessions.

Regarding a solution to such practices, 33.7 percent said the perception of employers must change, followed by the enhancement of individual workers` rights (26.2 percent) and strengthening education and publicity on the problem (23.4 percent).

Another 12.3 percent answered more policies should be drafted on how to improve gender equality at work.

Recent data from the National Statistical Office showed that last month women accounted for 94 percent of the 167,000 job losses among workers in their thirties.

A separate report released by a local lawmaker earlier this month also said more people thought gender equality was an improving case here in Korea.

Rep. Lim Doo-sung of the ruling Grand National Party said only 25.3 percent of the surveyed people said men and women were not treated equally in society. The research, conducted by the Ministry of Gender Equality, surveyed 708 people from 15 different regions who are over age 19.

However, this does not mean that the international community has the same point of view on the issue.

The Global Gender Gap Report 2008 ranked Korea 108th among 130 countries, higher than only a few Arab and African countries. Korea has continuously fallen in the rankings, from 92nd in 2006 to 97th in 2007 and 108th last year.

The nation`s failures in promoting wage equality and the employment of women in technical and professional positions have been cited as factors that attributed to the decline.

By Cho Ji-hyun



(sharon@heraldm.com)