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www.groovekorea.com / May 2014 44 On top of maternity leave and career breaks holding women back from climbing the cor- porate ladder, it seems education can do little to further their careers. Korea has the lowest level of female graduate employment across the OECD, and even with Koreans clocking up annual work hours that exceed those in most other countries, women still earn less than men. So why does Korea have the high- est gender pay gap in all of the OECD even though there are laws in place to protect against it? “Because of giving birth and child-raising du- ties of women in their thirties, career disrup- tion happens,” says Chae Myung-sook, depu- ty director of the Internal Cooperation Division at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. While an investigation conducted by the de- partment found that 52 percent of women cited pregnancy as a disruption to their work life, the ministry is focusing on creating fami- ly-friendly work conditions that aim to harmo- nize the work and life balance through flexi- ble hours and family support programs. The number of family-friendly certified companies doubled to more than 500 nationwide last year compared to the previous 12 months. Along with this, Chae says that the gov- ernment has many ongoing programs to lure women back to the workplace after having a baby. “One is child care, and if working moth- ers want to use this service, they can be first priority so that we can prevent career dis- ruption,” she says. On top of this, the Park administration has unleashed plans catered toward breaking the glass ceiling, including establishing an “Academy of Female Talent,” which will train women to become experts in their field and hold special career development programs aimed at smaller companies that lack professional training opportunities. While the government is focusing on im- proving female participation in the labor force, some women still feel that their career will pla- teau once they start a family. Jung Hyo-jung, a manager at an international company just outside Seoul, has a 14-month-old son and describes her work and life balance as having two full-time jobs. In 10 years at her company, she has been promoted twice, but now fears her family duties will keep her from future ca- reer opportunities. “Before I became pregnant, I quite often went on business trips. Now longer-period business trips may not be acceptable anymore,” she explains. “The company cannot use (me) as much as they want because I am going to be selective.” Even with the government working to in- crease female employment, Song says its policies are “not working well” because com- panies still view men and women’s societal duties as different. “(Companies) think female workers are not eligible for higher positions. It doesn’t make sense to them (to hire a woman) because first they have to raise their kids,” she explains. “We have a Confucian culture and a male-dominated society from the Joseon Dy- nasty. Even if the government makes a policy about protecting women or making it equal between females and males, it’s kind of use- less.”” Jung works in a company that employs around 7,000 people. Even though she thinks women are underrepresented in managerial positions, she admits that sometimes it’s eas- ier to work with men. “If I work with female subordinates, I need to (consider) their emo- tions and my words and attitude. Sometimes there are various things that I should point out to them (and) I need to pick kind words,” she says. Jung does this because she sees a lack of mentorship available compared to when she began her career. “When I was a junior, our company was not big like this. I had more re- sponsibilities than juniors (have now), which means I might have been taken care of more by my superiors. But now most of the compa- ny employees are newcomers and there are not enough superiors to mentor them,” she Edited by Elaine Ramirez (elaine@groovekorea.com) INSIGHT The gender pay gap ‘Unpleasant’ circumstances explains. Jung typically puts in a 50-hour workweek, but when it gets busy she is unable to say how late she could end up working. Waking up at 6 a.m., she isn’t able to spend time with her son before leaving the house, and due to the lack of day care facilities that fit her schedule, she must hire a nanny to take care of him. “I start work at 8 a.m. I don’t finish (work) at a regular time, so there is no other choice,” she says. Gender discrimination isn’t an issue that Jung has faced within her office, but she has still tackled “unpleasant” circumstances. “I was on the construction site and I had a male boss who told me, ‘You should work like a man, so I want to show you how men play after work.’ And he took me to a room salon. I didn’t want to stay there, but he insisted that I stay because I needed to know. Sometimes people were singing in the room salon and I tried to match the mood. I sang a song and drank something, but it was not very comfort- able,” she recalls. Such situations have only happened twice to Jung, but both times she says she felt forced to attend. “In those two times I didn’t want to go, but there was some situation and I couldn’t run away,” she says. The after-work socializing culture in Korean business is viewed as a way to bond with work colleagues and seniors on a less formal basis. The alcohol-heavy social event called a hoesik (company dinner), can improve work relations and even affect job promotions. Recently, however, it has garnered attention for eliciting inappropriate behavior from superiors toward their employees. Earlier this year, it was re- ported that a man in Busan was charged with sexually harassing a female employee last year during a hoesik. But women say they often feel that they can’t report such harass- ment, and accept it as a part of working life. A 2012 government report on sexual harass- ment in public institutions found that out of the 7.7 percent of women who said they have experienced some form of sexual harassment at work, 92 percent admitted to dealing with the situation by just enduring it. A survey by the local job website Career from the same year found that over 40 percent of the 405 re- spondents encountered sexual harassment in the workplace, with female victims accounting for over 70 percent. The most common place for it to occur was at a hoesik (44.5 percent), with a boss being the biggest perpetrator (78.7 percent). Ms. C, who did not want to be named, worked in three different companies in 2013. Last year, the Korean Women Workers Association saw a threefold increase in consultations concerning maternity leave, including women who said they were being pressured to quit their jobs due to pregnancy.