South Korea to Step Up Efforts to Boost Women in Top Public Posts
- Plan coming out Nov. 21 addresses shrinking work force
- Long work hours, household duties discourage women workers
Chung Hyun-back
Source: Ministry of Gender Equality and Family
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South Korea will unveil new measures aimed at increasing the number of women in high-ranking public-sector posts, part of an effort to bolster a work force that’s projected to start shrinking this year.
The country needs more women to work but the combination of excessive work hours and household responsibilities is discouraging them, said Chung Hyun-back, South Korea’s new minister of gender equality, in an interview with Bloomberg. The government will roll out a five-year plan on November 21 that will be more binding than its predecessor, which had set the 2017 ratio target for female public officials in senior positions at 15 percent, she said.