(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEJONG, Nov. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Just over 1 in 5 married women in South Korea stopped working due to marriage, having children and taking care of them, and other family-related obligations, data showed Thursday.
According to the data by Statistics Korea, the number of women who gave up their jobs due to marriage and other family-related reasons came to 1.84 million as of April this year. That made up 20.5 percent of all married women aged 15-54 here.
Of them, 34 percent cited marriage as the major reason why they quit their jobs. Baby rearing trailed with 33.5 percent, while childbirth and education came next with 24.1 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.
Women in their 30s numbered 886,000, making up the largest proportion of the total at 48 percent. Those aged 40-49 came next with 35.8 percent, followed by females aged 50-54 with 8.7 percent, the data showed.
In South Korea, female labor participation has been rising, but at the same time, many women are quitting their jobs as they get married and start families.
The government has been working on a variety of programs to get women who left workplaces due to child rearing and other family-related duties to resume their careers in a bid to raise the country’s growth potential.
(Yonhap)
