Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Empowering Women in the Korean Labor Market after COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant damage to women’s labor. This study analyzes the situation of the Korean labor market from various angles using available national statistical data. While the employment rate fell and the unemployment rate rose due to COVID-19, the unemployment rate among young people in their 20s and the elderly in their 50s and older rose. Gender segregation in occupations and industries, a chronic problem in the Korean labor market, has intensified and also increased the gender wage gap. It was found that the gender wage gap was large in jobs where many women were engaged. Overall, the number of non-regular workers increased in jobs where women were concentrated, and the number of employed people among vulnerable groups decreased. Online classes and telecommuting due to social distancing have increased women’s housework and childcare burden. As a result, the employment rate of working women with young children fell. In this situation, the mismatch between job seekers and job openings also intensified, showing that the social employment system was not working properly. COVID-19 has adversely affected women in the labor market in Korea, especially elderly women with low education levels and non-regular female workers. The damage caused by the 1997 and 2008 economic crises was also concentrated on women’s labor, yet Korean society did not learn from those experiences. Although many efforts have been made over the past 10 years to resolve discrimination in the labor market and prevailing gender norms in Korean society, their effect has been insignificant. This study emphasizes the need for a more detailed and active women’s labor policy. It also presents the need for a social system that properly responds to pandemic situations like COVID-19.