Employment gap between men and women is widening after marriage
- 5 years ago
남녀 고용률 결혼 전 후 격차 커져...기혼남녀 고용률 격차 28.5%p
These days there's nothing unusual about women pursuing higher degrees and working side-by-side with men.
But the latest figures show that for many South Korean women who are married, it's a struggle to get in the work force and to stay in.
Seo Eunkyung explains.
In recent years, more and more Koreans have taken a positive view about women in being part of the work force.
The percentage of Koreans who think it's good for women to have jobs has increased to 87-point-2 percent last year, up 2.7 percentage points from 2013.
But despite that widespread point of view, married women appear to have a hard time landing and keeping jobs.
The employment rate among women is almost the same as that of men overall -- last year the gap was only 1.6 percentage points. But among married men and women, the gap surges to 28-point-5.
The main reasons women left the workforce were pregnancy, child-rearing and not enough support from their families.
And though the vast majority of Koreans say they think women should work, that attitude changes when it comes to their own wives.
As of 2016, less than half of married men wanted their wives to work.
Having children appears to make it harder for women to work too.
The participation of men in the job market is steady and appears unaffected by whether or not they have kids or how old the kids are.
Among women with teenagers, almost 70 percent of them have jobs, but among those with kids younger than 6, the rate is only 46-point-4 percent.
In fact, 35-point-6 percent of married women said they've quit working either to raise and educate their children, or to take care of their families.
Seo Eun-kyung, Arirang News.
These days there's nothing unusual about women pursuing higher degrees and working side-by-side with men.
But the latest figures show that for many South Korean women who are married, it's a struggle to get in the work force and to stay in.
Seo Eunkyung explains.
In recent years, more and more Koreans have taken a positive view about women in being part of the work force.
The percentage of Koreans who think it's good for women to have jobs has increased to 87-point-2 percent last year, up 2.7 percentage points from 2013.
But despite that widespread point of view, married women appear to have a hard time landing and keeping jobs.
The employment rate among women is almost the same as that of men overall -- last year the gap was only 1.6 percentage points. But among married men and women, the gap surges to 28-point-5.
The main reasons women left the workforce were pregnancy, child-rearing and not enough support from their families.
And though the vast majority of Koreans say they think women should work, that attitude changes when it comes to their own wives.
As of 2016, less than half of married men wanted their wives to work.
Having children appears to make it harder for women to work too.
The participation of men in the job market is steady and appears unaffected by whether or not they have kids or how old the kids are.
Among women with teenagers, almost 70 percent of them have jobs, but among those with kids younger than 6, the rate is only 46-point-4 percent.
In fact, 35-point-6 percent of married women said they've quit working either to raise and educate their children, or to take care of their families.
Seo Eun-kyung, Arirang News.