Abstract
Directions for Implementing Gender Equality Policy
Kyoung Hee Ma
Kyung-Hee Kim
Soo-Beom Park
Sol Lee
Introduction
Research Background and Purpose
As the Framework Act on Women’s Development was fully amended to the Framework Act on Gender Equality, policy name changed from women’s policy to gender equality policy. Accordingly, there has been a growing expectation of new policy directions and issues. Because changes in laws and policy name reflected changes in the social environment surrounding already-implemented women’s policy and in people’s expectation of the new policy, the government needs to seek new policy directions in response to these changes. Based on the expert Delphi survey, this study aims to clarify debate issues over gender equality policy and to suggest directions of implementing gender equality policy that fit the changing policy environment and future forecast without being cut off from the existing women’s policy.
Research Contents and Methods
The main contents of this study are as follows:
First, it reviews achievements and issues of women’s policy over the past three decades, then identifies policy directions for better implementing gender equality policy.
Second, it assesses the impact of changes in the future policy environment on gender equality and identifies policy agendas to cope with the changes.
Third, it analyzes controversial issues surrounding the concept of gender equality policy and policy directions arising from the amendment of the Framework Act on Women’s Development to the Framework Act on Gender Equality.
Fourth, based on the above-mentioned discussions, this study makes suggestions for directions of implementing gender equality policy.
The main research method is the expert Delphi survey.
□ Purpose of the survey: to collect opinions from experts about directions of implementing gender equality policy and about policy agendas suited for the changing policy environment and future outlook to be used as supporting data for making suggestions for policy directions.
□ Survey period: July 29, 2016 to November 1, 2016
□ Survey method: Web-based survey
□ Subjects of the survey: 40 experts, including academics, policy researchers, women’s organizations, and government officials.
Achievements and Challenges of Women’s Policy over the Past Three Decades
It was assessed that women’s policy over the past three decades built various laws and systems, and infrastructure for policy implementation and attained quantitative achievements to some degree of expanding women’s participation in the labor market, politics, and public administration, which had been restricted due to gender discrimination. Also, women’s policy expanded the scope of policy recipients by embracing different marginalized women, including single mothers, immigrant women through marriage, female North Korean defectors, and victims of gender-based violence.
Despite these achievements, it was assessed that changes in qualitative terms were still not sufficient enough to break the unequal gender relations, and therefore improvements were needed in the future. Quantitative expansion of women’s labor participation may contribute to strengthening women’s economic status--currently lower than men’s--only through improvement of the quality of women’s employment, which is a barometer for a fair distribution of economic resources. Women’s entry into male dominated occupations which are limited to a few professional fields should be further expanded. Also, drastic improvements are needed in wage and working conditions of female dominated jobs, such as care and service sectors.
More women should enter political and administrative areas and, in particular, a device should be prepared to guarantee women’s descriptive and substantial representation in political area. Policy means of raising men’s responsibilities for housework and care should be further reinforced as much as policies to expand women’s labor participation. Women’s rights to be safe from gender-based violence should be expanded to encompass threats to violence women experience in daily life, including recently- increasing online violence, dating violence, stalking, and misogyny.
Future Environmental Changes and Policy Agendas on Gender Equality
Environmental changes in a future society can be largely classified into six areas, including change in population structure, change in family, growth without employment and labor market structure, development of digital technologies, intensification of social conflict, and unification. Based on the six areas, this study examined the impacts of these changes on gender equality. Experts were divided in their opinions about negative and positive impacts of each area on gender equality.