KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

Abstract

 

A Study on the Way for Businesses to Adopt the Gender Equality Disclosure System

 

Kitaek Jeon

Miyoung Gu

Nanju Kim

Soyoung Kwon

Haejin Kim

 

This study reviewed the plausibility of introducing the "gender equality disclosure system", a policy that grasps the current state of gender discrimination in businesses in a more comprehensive way and drafts improvement measures, before coming up with a proposal of preparing a concrete system.

 

To this end, this investigation explored the existing discussions surrounding the corporate disclosure system and the wage information disclosure system as well as examined related policies and previous studies. It also looked into the current state of gender gap in the labor market and related overseas cases and conducted surveys on experts and consultative meetings.

 

The main findings and policy tasks of this study are as follows. The existing wage disclosure systems, including of ALIO, DART and CLEANEEYE, were relatively well known. And, topics of "Preparing legal grounds for integrated disclosure of gender wage information," "Drafting a measure that can enhance the level of businesses and institutions adopting the disclosure of gender wage information," "Expanding the scope of public organizations that are subject to gender wage information", "Making public male and female workers' wage by item", "Writing a follow-up plan and checking the implementation of it after the disclosure of male and female workers' wage gap", "Planning incentive policies for public institutions and businesses that make improvements on the wage gap disclosure by gender and the reduction on the gender wage difference" were found to have priority in importance and urgency. In addition, regarding the adequacy of the gender equality disclosure plan, which is proposed by this study, measures to expand the public sector, plans to increase the number of disclosure items, ideas to improve the level of plan adoption, actions of operating disclosure cycle, among others, were viewed as important.

 

The implementation plan of the gender equality disclosure system suggested in this study is as follows. The gender equality disclosure system shall consist of the disclosure of gender wage information, the right to request the disclosure of personal wage information, and the follow-up procedures of gender equality disclosure, in the form of a basic law that stipulates about improving gender wage gap. The gender equality disclosure promotion system can be done in a way that government ministries and agencies responsible for gender equality disclosure take a leading role in implementing gender equality disclosure both in the public and the private sector and operating the center of anti-gender wage gap (provisionary name). Practicing the gender equality disclosure can be considered being implemented in either way; making the ministries and agencies that are already taking charge of gender equality tasks or establishing a new organization that will be reserved only for related missions, as the EEOC of the US. In addition, in order to lessen the burden of gender wage disclosure work of institutions and companies subject to this, such as with small businesses, a dedicated ministry can work with the National Tax Service to come up with ideas of what to disclose, including gender wage gap information. Currently, the public sector and some of the private sector are subject to the disclosure system; however, more and more of them will be under the influence of it. In addition, the integrated gender equal disclosure system (provisionary name) can be set up for operation on a basis of one year disclosure cycle. Items to be disclosed are proposed as follows: wages by gender; wages of standing executives by gender; details of wages by gender; wages by gender and trade; wages by gender and employment type as well as average years of retention by gender; numbers of hiring by employment type and position; number of new employment by gender; number of turnover and number of childcare leave by gender. Follow-up measures were suggested in the following ways: investigate the actual condition of institutions and work places that have displayed excessive gender wage gaps; request the release of personal wage information; draft the plan of narrowing gender wage difference and review the implementation of it; work on the improvement through consultation. In order for the disclosure system to be more widely adopted, mid- to long-term roadmaps and the following measures were suggested: release businesses and organizations that were certified, or chosen as best gender equality disclosure practice for their act of disclosing related information and improving on gender equality gap; reflect the disclosure system into the evaluation of organizations and their heads; offer merits to or restrict participation in government procurement process; provide better terms and conditions for loans; prepare educational training and forums to business owners; run institutions of social discussion for adopting the gender equality disclosure system.

 

Research areas: Classification on research outcomes, lists and topics: Labor, employment

Keywords: Gender wage gap, gender equality disclosure, gender wage disclosure, gender discrimination