No progress in bridging gender gap

Things change quickly in Korea. However, the lives of women here improved at a slower rate in recent years, an analysis report found yesterday.

The Korean Women`s Development Institute conducted a survey last year on eight categories that best reflect the level of gender equality.

They include family affairs, welfare, health, economic activity, decision-making, education, culture, information and safety.

Based on the results of the survey, the Ministry of Gender Equality plans to develop the nation`s first index on gender equality, officials said.

While some fluctuations were found in each category, the score in safety slightly decreased due to a series of recent sex crimes, according to the survey.

For welfare and health services, more women came to benefit from public pensions and the employment growth rate of disabled women was higher than that of males in 2008.



The number of female lawmakers also slightly increased to 41 in 2008, from 39 in 2004. Out of the total 299 lawmakers, women accounted for 13 percent.

The percentage of female high-ranking officials also increased to 10 percent in 2008, up from 8.4 percent in 2005.

There was no change in women`s economic activity, which stood at 50 percent in 2008. The male figure was 73.5 percent for that year.

The wage gap between genders also remained stationary. Women were paid on average 38 percent less than men last year. The gap is more than twice that of the OECD average of 18.8 percent.

Even though the number of crime victims has increased regardless of gender, the growth in female victims was more apparent. In 2008, of the total 4,873 crime victims, 69 percent were females, a 3 percent increase from 2005.

"Despite the overall improvement in gender equality, measures should be taken to reduce discrimination in some fields such as decision-making, welfare and family affairs. Urgent actions are especially required for better safety for women," said Kim Tae-hong, researcher at the institute.

The ministry plans to develop a comprehensive framework for assessing gender gaps to be monitored by related government offices.

The gender equality index consists of 27 indicators that will evaluate how well the nation`s resources and opportunities are divided by gender.

Included are the gender ratio, the percentage of female lawmakers, the wage gap between genders and women`s working hours for household chores in relation to men.

In line with the development of the national index, legal grounds would be formulated for its better use. Based on the index, local governments would have their own indexes considering individual situations.

According to the Gender Empowerment Measures announced last year by the United Nations Development Program, Korea ranked 61st among 109 member states, with the percentage of female lawmakers standing at 69th and the wage gap between genders at 70th.

(jylee@heraldm.com)





By Lee Ji-yoon