By Suzy Koh, South Korea
Image: Praxis
Gender inequality has been an unceasing problem all over the world, including South Korea. This is mainly because Korea is one of the countries that have been predominantly influenced by Confucianism; which classified women, in any form, as a part of a lower social class than men. On top of that, in Confucianism, the ideal role for a woman was to take care of the household, and women typically did not get to have formal roles outside the household.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021, South Korea ranks 102nd out of 156 countries in terms of gender equality. Out of the four areas of the Gender Gap Report: education, health, political opportunity, and economic opportunity, South Korea had the lowest economic opportunity index.
As I mentioned, South Korea has had a strong patriarchal culture under the influence of Confucianism. Men have relatively more power and have relatively more economical opportunities. Although women's social participation has started to increase since industrialization, however, as the report shows, there is still a large gender gap in terms of economic opportunities for women compared to other countries in the world.
So what are some possible solutions to this? In order to solve this everlasting problem of gender inequality in economic opportunities, first, the opportunity for women to participate in society in general, must increase. It is also necessary to remove the barriers to women's social participation. For example, the burden of childcare and housework should be shared with men, so that they do not have to quit their jobs due to childcare and housework. Society will need to change its social perception that childcare and housework are women's responsibilities. In addition, the government will also need to create a system that provides equal opportunities for men and women to participate in society. Companies and public institutions should highly expand their hiring of women. If the number of women with high social status, such as female corporate executives and female parliamentarians increases, the status of women will naturally start to enhance, and will be able to reduce the gender gap in economic opportunities. Also, most significantly, the protection of human rights for females should be strengthened. Sexual crimes like the “Nth room” should hold a strong punishment and the government must prevent the recurrences.
Increasing women's participation and overall opportunity in society would not just benefit females, but it would be able to enhance our society as a whole. When the general participation of women in society increases, the diversity of our society would also increase, leading to social development when women’s abilities are utilized.
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