Woman Account for Only 20% of Managers

Fifteen years have passed since the government introduced a policy to boost the proportion of female managers in public organizations and private companies, but so far the results are unimpressive.

Only one in five managers in state-run agencies and companies and big businesses is a woman. The proportion has increased since the policy was first adopted in 2006, when it was about 10 percent, but is still near the bottom of the OECD.

The quota applies to businesses with more than 500 staff but all public organizations. 

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor last week, women account for just 20.9 percent of managers in 2,486 organizations it applies to.

The companies will first be publicly named and shamed if they fail to hire more women or maintain a low proportion of female managers.

The proportion of female staff at all levels stands at 41.7 percent in public organizations and 37.5 percent in big businesses. But their proportion in managerial positions is only 20.7 percent and 21.9 percent.

In public organizations outside Seoul the situation is even worse, with women taking up 31 percent of all staff and only 8.5 percent of mangers.

"The quota was applied just last year at public organizations outside Seoul, so the proportion of female managers is still low," a ministry official said.