17.
The rate of women irregular workers is decreasing. Nevertheless, among women workers,
the rates of those receiving below minimum wages or short-time workers with less than 15 working
hours per week have not changed in the past ten years. In 2015, the rates of women irregular workers
and women workers receiving below minimum wages decreased over the previous year, but the rate
of women workers working less than 15 hours per week has increased. In 2015, out of 100 women
workers, 40.2 of them held irregular positions while 11.8 of them receiving below minimum wages
and 4.9 of them engaged in short-time work positions.
Question
18.
Despite the various policy efforts to increase women’s employment rate, many indicators
prove that the efforts had minimal effect. As fundamental review is needed with regard to the policy
on women’s employment, please provide in detail the Government’s position, assessment and future
finance plans on this.
Issue 4: Gender wage gap and women’s low payment
Current situation
19.
While Korean women experience a wide range of discrimination in the labor market, the
most problematic issue is gender wage gap. The OECD presented in 2016 that the Republic of Korea
was one of the countries with the worst gender wage gap in 2014. Since 2000, where the OECD has
started presenting relevant statistical information, the Republic of Korea has been placed in the first
place with the biggest gender wage gap. The average gender wage gap among OECD nations,
calculated based on the median wage among full-time male workers, was 15 per cent in 2014 while
the figure was 37 per cent for the Republic of Korea. The rate has decreased by 3 per cent point from
40 per cent in 2004. However, countries with less gender wage gap than Korea such as the U.K.,
Switzerland, Belgium, and Iceland have shown decrease in the gap by 6 per cent point for the past ten
years. Japan, with the third highest gender wage gap among OECD nations, also showed decrease by
5 per cent point from 2004.
20.
The Republic of Korea has the highest rate of low-wage women workers among OECD
nations. In 2014, the rate of Korean women workers who received two thirds of median wage was
7