If There Are Many Unhappy Working Moms in Society, None Can Be Happy - Three urgent tasks for making working women happy

If There Are Many Unhappy Working Moms in Society, None Can Be Happy
- Three urgent tasks for making working women happy

 

 

Last May 26, the Statistics Korea released "2012 Women's Lives through Statistics." According to the report, working moms' life satisfaction level is lower than that of housewives. Even though women's social participation has become increasing, the glass ceiling which oppress women still exists in the Korean society.

 

In addition, Gender Gap Index was increased to 107 amongst 135 countries from 104 last year. We at the Korean Women Workers Association (KWWA) and Korean Women's Trade Union (KWTU) will look at hidden implications in the statistics.

 

 

1. Men and women must work and look after family together

 

Working mom's unhappiness comes from their exclusive responsibility for child care as well as social participation. While housewives having more than two preschoolers usually spend 4 hour 44 a day minutes on taking care of their family, working mom spend similar time on doing so. Moreover, because they have to spend 1 hour and 11 minutes on commuting between their workplace and home, they just manage to go to sleep at midnight. Working moms and their spouses should work together and take care of family together.

 

However, in Korea, the top country having been working the most hours amongst OECD countries for 14 years, with the average hour worked of 2,256 hour, society for working and caring together is just a pipe dream, because only 2.4% of Korean males took childcare leave. Since husbands are busy working overtime and having a get-together every night, they usually go back home at midnight, and so, working moms cannot ask their husbands to share their household affairs together. Instead, working moms have to take exclusive care of family matters, so-called "having another work at home" amongst Korean women. That is to say, Korean working moms have two jobs at home as well as at work for 24 hours, although they make themselves hated because they have to finish their work to go home on time.

 

In this style of life, none can be happy: Korean workers who suffer from long working hours, fathers who cannot take care of their family, and working moms who are forced to have two jobs for 24 hours. The exact solution to this difficult question is to look after family together as well as decreasing actual working hours without wage cuts. The social awareness should be upgraded so that women and men can balance family matters and jobs and men have to rights to take care of family matters.

 

 

2. Glass Ceiling should be broken

 

There has been increasing female ratios of National Assembly members, medical or health workers, teachers, public officers and lawyers. However, these statistics shows merely the increasing female participation, but they don't mean to realize gender equality. As of the end of November 2011, women accounted for 14.7% of national assembly members, which was ranked 81 out of 188 target countries. This doesn't reach the world's average of 19.8% and even the average of 18.3% in Asia. In 2012, the percentage rose to 15.7%, 1 % higher than last year.

 

Additionally, female public officers accounted for 41.8%. However, level 4 comprised 7.2% and level 3, 4.7% and high ranking female public officers accounted for only 2.4%. This shows even the public area where are supposed to have the most gender equality was governed by the rule of glass ceiling. In the case of school teachers, females accounted for 57.6% of all teachers, however, we have to look at the fact that school teachers are traditionally women concentrated jobs. That's because women usually get these jobs owing to job insecurity in the private sector. However, we can also find glass ceiling in this sector. Women's percentage declines rapidly in terms of the number of principals and vice principals.

 

We are very glad that an increasing number of women are socially active, and we believe it is very cheerful and amazing. However, there are a long journey to go for the society of equality. Especially, we believe it is very difficult to promote women's social status without breaking the glass ceiling.

 

 

3. Countermeasures to irregular women workers' issues and low wage issues should be taken rapidly

The statistics didn't point out irregular women workers' issues and their low wage significantly, but we should highlight the percentage of irregular women workers. According to the compositions of workers by employment type announced by the Statistics Korea, paid women workers accounted for 73.6% of women workers, and amongst them, regular workers comprised 37.1% and temporary and day workers 36.6%. However, male paid workers accounted for 70.4% out of the whole male workers, and among them, regular workers comprised 48.9% and temporary and day workers 21.5%. This means women workers are concentrated on irregular jobs. Irregular jobs stand for unstable employment and low wages, namely forming low-income groups in our society. In 2011, the number of income earners making less than the minimum wage was 2,040,000 persons, comprising 9.4% out of the whole workers. However, the women workers' group accounted for 15.2% out of the whole women workers, totalling 1,270,000 persons. In particular, irregular women workers' conditions become more serious. Out of irregular workers, the female low wage group earning less than the minimum wage comprised 23.5% out of the whole irregular women workers, totalling 750,000 women. To stop the irregularization of women and take the initiating role, irregular workers in the public sector should be regularized. In the private sector, the use of irregular workers should also be banned without any special reasons, to stabilize workers' livelihoods.

 

It is said that women's social participation is important to promote national competitiveness. However, everyday women workers feel as if they join the battlefield raining fire. Women workers try hard to get better. Now, our society and our nation should do their best.

 

 

Jeong Moon Ja                                                  Hwang Youngmi
chairperson                                                       president
Korean Women Workers Association                     Korean Women's Trade Union

 

dated on June 27, 2012