KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

This is the second-year study of the research on the “Impact of Government Policies on Women’s Employment and Improvement Agendas by Area” conducted in 2015. The purposes of this study are to examine the present conditions and future directions as well and to seek desirable directions and policy agendas for the structural improvement of women’s employment in the future. For these purposes, this study departed from mutually exclusive approaches to policies on the promotion of women’s employment rate and policies on the improvement of the quality of employment and conducted a comprehensive study of the quantitative and qualitative aspects of women’s employment through the two-year research.

The first-year study aimed to develop policies to improve their compatibility by analyzing the population and welfare policies, education policies, labor market policies that affect women’s employment, including low fertility, from the perspective of women’s employment. Through this effort, the study looked into the relationship between various types of government policies and women’s employment and aimed to promote social discussion about directions and policies surrounding women’s employment polices through gender-sensitive analysis of the overall labor market policies.

The second-year study aimed to analyze whether the government policies can bring qualitative and structural changes to women’s employment by examining and improving the structural problems of the women’s labor market. Although women’s employment is not expressly addressed in the ongoing discussions on the structural improvement of the labor market, women’s employment is an important issue in a considerable number of agendas. Because women are often considered a minority class, an effort needs to be made to improve the consideration of women’s issues and possible solutions in these agendas. The structural improvement of the labor market can be realized through diverse follow-up measures. Accordingly, this study aimed to develop policy agendas by area to resolve the problems of women’s employment in the process of establishing various follow-up policies. Focusing on the agendas of the structural improvement of the labor market, the study also sought desirable directions and policy agendas for quantitative and qualitative balance and improvement in the women’s labor market. It also attempted to develop necessary agendas for policy improvement through comparison of the current and desirable conditions of the women’s labor market which might appear when the structure of the labor market has been improved.

To attain these research goals, this study included the following contents.

First, this study analyzed the current state and trends of women’s employment using various existing statistical data; based on the results of the analysis, the study summed up major problems and issues; examined the current conditions of the dual structure of the labor market by gender, focusing on the dichotomy of large and small/medium enterprises and regular and non-regular workers; and looked into the probabilities of transfer between sectors and changes in working conditions before and after the transfer. In addition, the study examined characteristics of union organization rates of male and female workers; analyzed differences in working conditions of wage workers who joined the labor union; and aimed to confirm women’s representation and working conditions in businesses with labor unions.

Second, this study examined the current state and characteristics of part-time workers by gender and by age cohort to analyze the demand and supply of part-time workers. The study also analyzed the wage levels of part-time workers by gender and by employment type, the proportion of female part-time workers paid under minimum wages, and factors influencing the gender pay gap of part-time workers. By analyzing the present conditions and trends in changes of the rates of part-time workers’ subscriptions to social insurance and additional benefits caused by the government support as well as vocational competency development and job security for part-time workers, this study aimed to identify the current situations and problems of women’s employment structure from quantitative and qualitative aspects.

Finally, focusing on health insurance and employment insurance, this study analyzed the respective size of male and female workers who are excluded from the benefits of social insurance. As the Korean government has implemented a representative social insurance support project called Duru Nuri, literally meaning “All Enjoy,” for low-paid workers at small businesses, this study analyzed the trends in the number of the support recipient businesses and distribution of recipient workers by gender to measure project performance. Based on the results of these analyses, this study presented policy implications and measures for improvement.