Female jobseekers look at recruitment notices during a job fair at a convention center in the southeastern city of Daegu on Sept. 2, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Gender inequality is still widespread in South Korean when it comes to employment and wages, the gender ministry said Tuesday.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family reported that the employment rate among women stood at 51.2 percent last year, which was 18.8 percentage points lower than the male employment rate.
The gap was more or less similar to the year prior (19.1 percentage points).
Among all female employees in the country, 47.4 percent were irregular workers and 22.1 percent received low income, both of which were higher than their male counterparts.
Female wage workers earned 15,804 won (US$11.41) per hour, which was 69.8 percent of what men earned.
Among all South Koreans benefitting from the National Basic Livelihood Security Program, 55.4 percent (1.26 million) were women, up by 131,000 people from 2020.
Among newlywed women last year between 15 and 54 years of age, 3.24 million were unemployed.
Among them, 1.45 million women experienced career interruptions due to marriage, pregnancy or childrearing, accounting for 17.4 percent of all married women.
They quit their jobs mostly due to childrearing (43.2 percent), followed by marriage (27.4 percent) and pregnancy/childbirth (22.1 percent).
Women worked 155.4 hours monthly, which was 15 hours fewer than men. Women worked 5.4 years in a single job, which was 2.7 years shorter than men.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
