The number of female employees in Seoul City hit a record high last year and more than a third of CEOs are women, data showed Tuesday.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of female workers reached 2.06 million, exceeding 2 million for the first time with an increase of 4.12 percent year-on-year.

Of the total of 4.7 million workers across various industries in the city, women accounted for 43.5 percent.

In the meantime, the number of male employees only rose by 2.9 percent to 2.67 million.

The data showed that the work quality of women has also improved.
 

For female workers, regular positions increased by 5.8 percent to 1.37 million and self-employed businesswomen by 2.2 percent to about 239,000. The number of temporary workers fell by 0.6 percent to about 267,000 and unpaid family workers dropped by 3.4 percent to some 69,000.

The number of businesses with female heads also jumped by 3.8 percent to about 270,000, accounting for 33.2 percent of total businesses in the capital.

By businesses sector, accommodations and restaurants recorded the highest number of female CEOs at 56 percent, followed by education services at 52 percent.

The transportation, mining, industry, electricity, water and gas industries, on the other hand, had the lowest rates of female heads, all at under 5 percent.

Since 1994, the city government has annually gathered industry information through direct interviews and online surveys to improve relevant measures.

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)