South Korea: Stop abolishing the ministry of gender equality and family
The Issue
South Korea’s new president-elect, Yoon Seok-Yeol, is an avowed anti-feminist and has vowed to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Yoon proclaimed that there is no systemic gender discrimination in Korea and the discrimination of the women is a thing of the past. There has been a few attempts to abolish the ministry of gender equality in the past, but this is the first time this has become a presidential election pledge. This gender-divide pledge is predicated on the belief that young Korean men’s misfortune is due to the success of young Korean women. This propaganda helped him win more than half of the votes from men in their 20’s and 30’s. This was a major point and helped swing the election in his favour, despite the many controversies and corruption he and his wife’s family have been involved with. Now he has been elected and the abolition of the gender equality ministry is on the horizon.
However, the reality is far from the truth. Korea has the largest gender pay gap of OECD countries, a huge 20 per cent gender employment gap, the lowest share of women on boards of publicly listed companies. Women are also under-represented in leadership positions in public life and spend far more time at home on unpaid household chores than men. Korea has ranked last among developed countries for several years in a row in the Economist’s “glass-ceiling index,” which measures the role and influence of women in the workforce. “Young Korean women may have the edge in educational attainment, but this has not yet been fully translated into the labor market equality or leadership in society in general,” said a senior economist at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Indeed, the staggeringly low rate of women in high positions is even more concerning given the fast economic growth South Korea has achieved. (https://www.oecd.org/country/korea/thematic-focus/gender-equality-korea-has-come-a-long-way-but-there-is-more-work-to-do-8bb81613/
The situation in Korea is not just a danger for Korean women but also poses a great challenge to the women in the world who face misogyny and systemic inequality. The abolition of the ministry of gender inequality will exacerbate the unfair treatment women face all around the world.
Please help stop the abolition of the ministry of gender-equality and family in South Korea by signing the petition!
The Issue
South Korea’s new president-elect, Yoon Seok-Yeol, is an avowed anti-feminist and has vowed to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Yoon proclaimed that there is no systemic gender discrimination in Korea and the discrimination of the women is a thing of the past. There has been a few attempts to abolish the ministry of gender equality in the past, but this is the first time this has become a presidential election pledge. This gender-divide pledge is predicated on the belief that young Korean men’s misfortune is due to the success of young Korean women. This propaganda helped him win more than half of the votes from men in their 20’s and 30’s. This was a major point and helped swing the election in his favour, despite the many controversies and corruption he and his wife’s family have been involved with. Now he has been elected and the abolition of the gender equality ministry is on the horizon.
However, the reality is far from the truth. Korea has the largest gender pay gap of OECD countries, a huge 20 per cent gender employment gap, the lowest share of women on boards of publicly listed companies. Women are also under-represented in leadership positions in public life and spend far more time at home on unpaid household chores than men. Korea has ranked last among developed countries for several years in a row in the Economist’s “glass-ceiling index,” which measures the role and influence of women in the workforce. “Young Korean women may have the edge in educational attainment, but this has not yet been fully translated into the labor market equality or leadership in society in general,” said a senior economist at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Indeed, the staggeringly low rate of women in high positions is even more concerning given the fast economic growth South Korea has achieved. (https://www.oecd.org/country/korea/thematic-focus/gender-equality-korea-has-come-a-long-way-but-there-is-more-work-to-do-8bb81613/
The situation in Korea is not just a danger for Korean women but also poses a great challenge to the women in the world who face misogyny and systemic inequality. The abolition of the ministry of gender inequality will exacerbate the unfair treatment women face all around the world.
Please help stop the abolition of the ministry of gender-equality and family in South Korea by signing the petition!
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Petition created on 17 March 2022