South Korea’s employment and labour indicators for women have remained low among members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) over the past two decades, due in part to inadequate government support and a lack of sufficient job opportunities, a report revealed on Monday (January 6).
According to an analysis by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) on the employment and labour market for women aged 15-64 in 38 OECD countries, the employment rate and labour force participation rate of South Korean women stood at 61.4% and 63.1%, respectively, in 2023.
The FKI stated that South Korea ranked 31st among OECD nations in both categories.
Since 2003, South Korea has consistently been in the lower tier regarding female employment. Its ranking among OECD countries in terms of women’s employment rate dropped from 27th in 2003 to 31st in 2023, according to the report.
Notably, the country’s employment rate for women with children under the age of 15 was 56.2% in 2021, the lowest among the so-called “30-50 club” — a group of OECD members with a population exceeding 50 million and a per capita income of over US$30,000.
The report highlighted that South Korea is lagging in two critical areas — flexible work environments and family care support — when compared with OECD nations that have a women’s employment rate above 70%, such as Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
The FKI suggested that efforts to improve women’s economic participation should “focus on creating work environments that enable work-life balance, such as greater flexibility in working hours.”
It also emphasised the need to expand the availability of high-quality part-time jobs and enhance the country’s overall family care support system to actively encourage women’s participation in the economy. – Yonhap
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