The Legal Structuring of Women's Collective Voice in the South Korean Workplace

Abstract

This article analyses the significant policy issue of how South Korean law structures possibilities for women in paid employment to express their collective views. South Korean women in employment suffer acute versions of problems faced by their counterparts in other countries, including a large gender earnings gap, limited employer-based training and very restricted access to workplace nurseries. The government has recently introduced a range of legislation to rectify the situation, but this has had limited impact on employers' practices. We show that international experience suggests that these laws could be positively supported by legislation ensuring that women have a collective voice at work. However, this potentially complementary legislative pillar is in fact weak or absent, reducing the possibilities for women to address their own problems directly and ameliorate the situation.