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As in many countries, the pandemic has had a massive effect on women.
South Korea has been praised for its handling of the pandemic. Even though COVID-19 cases surged in December, the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in South Korea remains particularly lower than in many Western countries and other parts of the world. South Korea’s economy also outperformed many of its peers in 2020. However, despite South Korea’s overall good fortune in managing the pandemic, COVID-19 has had a disproportionate effect on women.
Women are on the front lines of managing the pandemic and facing its consequences on a daily basis. As schools closed and family members fell ill, the burden of caring for family members fell on women. The vast majority of South Koreans who run in the fitness sector, but are also hired in the sectors of the economy hardest hit by the pandemic. Not only are their skills imperative to meeting the fitness challenge, but women who run outdoors in the fitness industry are more likely than men to lose their jobs.
Women in the pre-COVID-19
Before the pandemic, women accounted for 43% of the workforce hired in South Korea. While progress has been made in integrating more women into the workforce, those numbers have only increased compared to the past decade.
Women are also more likely to work part-time. South Korea ranks fourth among OECD countries in terms of unusual painters; 24. 4% of the workforce is in transitional jobs, compared to the OECD average of 11. 8%. However, women accounted for 63. 5% of part-time work in South Korea. These part-time jobs accounted for 20. 8% of all women’s jobs. jobs in South Korea, while part-time jobs accounted for only 8. 9% of all male jobs.
Irregular work is more prevalent among working mothers. About 30 percent of South Korean mothers worked abnormally before the pandemic, while 10. 2 percent of all working mothers earned less than the minimum wage as special workers. For South Korea’s entire workforce,28 12. 8 percent of female workers earn less than the minimum wage, compared to 12. 8 percent of men.
The peak of transitory boxes and the higher proportion of women earning less than the minimum wage are likely cutting into women’s wages and contributing to South Korea having the OECD gender pay gap before the pandemic.
Women also do the vast majority of unpaid domestic work. According to the OECD, before the pandemic, men spent 49 minutes a day on unpaid domestic work, while they spent 215 minutes.
In addition to bearing the burden at home, women are on the front lines of physical care in South Korea. While 25 percent of physicians are women, women make up the vast majority of staff in the human fitness and social work sectors. In the fitness industry in particular, 94 percent of paid fitness care staff are women, as are 96. 1 percent of licensed auxiliary nurses and 95. 8 percent of registered nurses.
Women also make up the majority of staff in education, transportation, accommodation and food services, commercial facility management, and business services, while accounting for a significant percentage of staff in the retail and wholesale industrial sector.
How COVID-19 Has Affected Women
The pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on women’s family life, employment, and personal health.
In the first half of 2020, 56. 3 percent of South Korean women reported an increase in family care work as a result of the pandemic, and 62. 1 percent of South Korean women who took family leave were women, according to a report. through the Korea Labor Institute (KLI). Of those surveyed, 33. 5 percent of women said they were the only ones doing their relatives’ chores, while 17. 2 percent said their relatives’ chores piled up at an average of 2 to four hours per day.
While the report doesn’t provide figures on the number of women quitting their jobs to care for their families, those who did said no one else could simply do the paintings or seek help, or that already hired caregivers or housewives had given up because of COVID-19.
As China’s day-to-day jobs increased at home, they also faced growing uncertainty in the workplace. An earlier KLI report indicated that at the onset of the pandemic, China’s employment rates declined at their fastest rate since the 2009 global currency crisis, while job losses were concentrated in sectors where they account for a significant percentage of the workforce, such as school services, restaurants, and the retail and wholesale sector.
This has led to a relative increase in the poverty rate for women and a decrease in income relative to that of men.
As the economy moved forward in the fall, the employment situation began to improve, but the latest wave of COVID-19 further affected women’s labor market prospects. South Korea’s overall unemployment rate was 5. 7 percent in January, but for women it was 6. 7 percent.
The effect on women can be seen in the evolution of permanent and temporary employment. While South Korea has created a small number of permanent jobs over the past year, 563,000 temporary jobs have been lost.
The Bank of Korea’s consumer knowledge shows declines in the leisure, education, and restaurants and hotels sectors in the four quarters of 2020, with double-digit declines in all three categories in the fourth quarter. As a result, January’s employment figures show significant job losses in those sectors, which employ a significant proportion of people in South Korea.
More and more South Koreans are also becoming economically inactive and leaving the job market. The most recent labor data in South Korea indicates that 867,000 fewer South Koreans are economically active as of January 2020, an increase of 5. 2%. Of the 476,000 newly inactive women, some 388,000 turned to the home.
Beyond the labor force, the effect on women’s fitness is disproportionate to global averages. Although the total number of COVID-19 cases in South Korea is relatively low compared to many other countries, 50. 96% of COVID-19 cases as of the end of January were women. According to UN data in mid-January, this figure is higher than the global average, with women accounting for 49. 1% of cases worldwide. The COVID-19 death rate in South Korea is also higher than the global average. among women.
Suicide and domestic violence are also a problem. Suicide is the leading cause of death among South Koreans in their twenties and thirties. In the first part of 2020, female suicides increased overall to 7%, but up to 40% for women in early data also suggest that the need for social distancing has led to an increase in domestic violence against women.
The Development Prices of Gender Inequality
From a social perspective, gender equality in education and the labor market plays a vital role in economic growth. Women’s economic setbacks due to the pandemic have long-term implications for South Korea’s economic growth.
Among people aged 25 to 34, South Korea has the tertiary education point in the OECD. Nearly 70 percent of the 25- to 34-year-old population has at least a college degree, but among women, this figure rises to 76. 5 percent. .
At a time when the length of South Korea’s labor force is already declining and the overall fertility rate has fallen to 0. 84, women are an underutilized resource for the economy. A joint study by the Council on Foreign Relations and the McKinsey Global Institute concluded that if women’s participation in the hard labor market were to peak in the region until 2025, it would increase to 9% of GDP. Achieving gender parity in labor force participation would increase 24% of GDP over the same period.
The IMF’s most conservative estimate suggests that if women’s participation in the hard labor force were to catch up with men’s by 2035, it would increase to 7% of South Korea’s GDP.
The South Korean government has taken steps to address the difficult economic situations that women have faced during the pandemic. At the start of the pandemic, it increased an allowance and extended childcare leave to 10 days. Indirectly, it has also focused on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, which are less likely to be able to manage pandemic-related economic crises, and offering cash assistance to households.
It is very likely that these policies have helped to lessen what would have been a greater impact on women in the labour market. However, as the pandemic continues, more efforts must be made to help women cope with the difficult conditions of the pandemic than disproportionately they do.
Without policies that help women cope, achieving parity in labor force participation will most likely lag further at a time when the economy needs more professional workers. This will have real consequences for South Korea’s economic future. But the focus will not only be on the demanding economic situations faced by women as a result of the pandemic. More needs to be done to address the disproportionate physical and family demands that women also face.
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South Korea has been praised for its handling of the pandemic. Even though COVID-19 cases increased in December, the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in South Korea remains particularly lower than in many Western countries and other parts of the world. South Korea’s economy also outperformed many of its peers in 2020. However, despite South Korea’s overall good fortune in managing the pandemic, COVID-19 has had a disproportionate effect on women.
Women are on the frontlines of managing the pandemic and its consequences on a daily basis. As schools closed and family members fell ill, the burden of caring for family members fell on women. They make up a large majority of South Koreans who run in the fitness sector, but they are also hired in the sectors of the economy hardest hit by the pandemic. Not only are their skills imperative to meet the challenge of physical care, but women who work outside of the physical care sector are more likely than men to lose their jobs.
Women in the pre-COVID-19
Before the pandemic, women accounted for 43% of the workforce hired in South Korea. While progress has been made in integrating more women into the workforce, those numbers have only increased compared to the past decade.
Women are also more likely to work part-time. South Korea ranks fourth among OECD countries in terms of unusual painters; 24. 4% of the labour force is in transitional jobs, compared with the OECD average of 11. 8%. However, women accounted for 63. 5% of part-time work in South Korea. These part-time jobs accounted for 20. 8% of all women’s jobs. jobs in South Korea, while part-time jobs accounted for only 8. 9% of all male jobs.
Irregular work is more prevalent among working mothers. About 30 percent of South Korean mothers worked abnormally before the pandemic, while 10. 2 percent of all working mothers earned less than the minimum wage as special workers. For South Korea’s entire workforce,28 12. 8 percent of female workers earn less than the minimum wage, compared to 12. 8 percent of men.
The high point of transience charts and the higher proportion of women earning less than the minimum wage are likely slashing women’s wages and contributing to South Korea having the gender pay gap in the OECD before the pandemic.
Women also do the vast majority of unpaid domestic work. According to the OECD, before the pandemic, men spent 49 minutes a day on unpaid domestic work, while women spent 215 minutes.
In addition to bearing the burden at home, women are on the front lines of physical care in South Korea. While 25 percent of doctors are women, women make up the vast majority of staff in the human fitness and social painting sectors. Specifically, in the fitness sector, 94% of paid fitness staff are women, as are 96. 1% of auxiliary nurses and 95. 8% of registered nurses.
Women also make up the majority of staff in the education, transportation, accommodation and food, advertising services management and business center sectors, while making up a significant percentage of staff in the retail and wholesale industry sector.
How COVID-19 has affected women
The pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on women’s family life, employment, and personal health.
In the first half of 2020, 56. 3 percent of South Korean women reported an increase in family care work as a result of the pandemic, and 62. 1 percent of South Korean women who took family leave were women, according to a report. through the Korea Labor Institute (KLI). Of those surveyed, 33. 5 percent of women said they were the only ones doing their relatives’ chores, while 17. 2 percent said their relatives’ chores piled up at an average of 2 to four hours per day.
While the report doesn’t provide figures on the number of women quitting their jobs to care for their families, those who did said no one else could simply do the paintings or seek help, or that already hired caregivers or housewives had given up because of COVID-19.
As China’s day-to-day jobs increased at home, they also faced growing uncertainty in the workplace. An earlier KLI report indicated that at the onset of the pandemic, China’s employment rates declined at their fastest rate since the 2009 global currency crisis, while job losses were concentrated in sectors where they account for a significant percentage of the workforce, such as school services, restaurants, and the retail and wholesale sector.
This has led to a relative increase in the poverty rate for women and a decrease in income relative to that of men.
As the economy progressed in the fall, the employment situation began to improve, but the latest wave of COVID-19 further affected women’s labor market prospects. South Korea’s overall unemployment rate was 5. 7 percent in January, but for women it was 6. 7 percent.
The effect on women can be seen in the evolution of permanent and temporary employment. While South Korea has created a small number of permanent jobs over the past year, 563,000 temporary jobs have been lost.
The Bank of Korea’s consumer knowledge shows declines in the leisure, education, and restaurants and hotels sectors in the four quarters of 2020, with double-digit declines in all three categories in the fourth quarter. As a result, January’s employment figures show significant job losses in those sectors, which employ a significant proportion of people in South Korea.
More and more South Koreans are also becoming economically inactive and leaving the job market. The most recent labor data in South Korea indicates that 867,000 fewer South Koreans are economically active as of January 2020, an increase of 5. 2%. Of the 476,000 newly inactive women, some 388,000 turned to the home.
Beyond the workforce, the effect on women’s fitness is disproportionate to global averages. Although the total number of COVID-19 cases in South Korea is relatively low compared to many other countries, 50. 96% of COVID-19 cases as of the end of January were women. According to UN data in mid-January, this figure is higher than the global average, as women represent 49. 1% of cases worldwide. The COVID-19 death rate in South Korea is also higher than the global average. among women.
Suicide and domestic violence are also a problem. Suicide is the leading cause of death among South Koreans in their twenties and thirties. In the first part of 2020, female suicides increased overall to 7%, but up to 40% for women in early data also suggest that the need for social distancing has led to an increase in domestic violence against women.
The Costs of Growing Gender Inequality
From a social perspective, gender equality in education and the labor market plays a vital role in economic growth. Women’s economic setbacks due to the pandemic have long-term implications for South Korea’s economic growth.
Among people aged 25 to 34, South Korea has the tertiary education point in the OECD. Nearly 70 percent of the 25- to 34-year-old population has at least a college degree, but among women, this figure rises to 76. 5 percent. .
At a time when the length of South Korea’s labor force is already declining and the overall fertility rate has fallen to 0. 84, women are an underutilized resource for the economy. A joint study by the Council on Foreign Relations and the McKinsey Global Institute concluded that if women’s participation in the hard labor market were to peak in the region until 2025, it would increase to 9% of GDP. Achieving gender parity in labor force participation would increase 24% of GDP over the same period.
The IMF’s most conservative estimate suggests that if women’s participation rates in the hard labor force caught up with men’s through 2035, they would increase 7% of South Korea’s GDP.
The South Korean government has taken measures to address the difficult economic situations women have faced during the pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic, it increased an allowance and extended childcare leave to 10 days. Indirectly, it has also focused on supporting small and medium-sized businesses, which are less likely to be able to manage economic shocks related to the pandemic, and offering monetary assistance to households.
It is very likely that these policies have helped to lessen what would have been a greater impact on women in the labour market. However, as the pandemic continues, more efforts must be made to help women cope with the difficult conditions of the pandemic than disproportionately they do.
Without policies to help women cope, achieving parity in labor market participation will likely take longer at a time when the economy needs more professional workers. This will have genuine consequences for South Korea’s economic future. But the focus will not be solely on the difficult economic situations women are facing due to the pandemic. Additional efforts must be made to address the disproportionate physical and family demands that women also face.
South Korea has been praised for its handling of the pandemic. Even though COVID-19 cases surged in December, the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in South Korea remains particularly lower than in many Western countries and other parts of the world. South Korea’s economy also outperformed many of its peers in 2020. However, despite South Korea’s overall good fortune in managing the pandemic, COVID-19 has had a disproportionate effect on women.
Women are on the frontlines of managing the pandemic and its consequences on a daily basis. As schools closed and family members fell ill, the burden of caring for family members fell on women. The vast majority of South Koreans who run in the fitness sector, but are also hired in the sectors of the economy hardest hit by the pandemic. Not only are their skills imperative to meeting the fitness challenge, but women who run outdoors in the fitness industry are more likely than men to lose their jobs.