Korea Marks Biggest Wage Gap Between Genders

[ashiva.livejournal.com]

Korea has the biggest wage gap between male workers and their female colleagues among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries.

According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the OECD said in a report Thursday that Korean men are paid on average 38 percent more than women.

The wage gap is more than two times that of the OECD average of 18.8 percent.

Japan was also very unequal in wages, with males getting 33 percent more than females.

Germany, Austria, Canada and the U.K. also marked over a 20-percent wage difference between the genders.

Korea also marked a wide gap in employment rate. The employment rate gap between males and females was 30 percent in Korea, the fourth biggest gap following Turkey, Mexico and Greece.

The OECD attributed the gap to deep-rooted gender discrimination. It added that males are working in high-paying, regular, and professional sectors compared to women.

In the meantime, Korean women have only 1.08 children on average, the lowest among OECD member countries.

Mexico, Turkey, Iceland, the United States, France and New Zealand, meanwhile, had a birth rate of two children or more.

Korea also recorded the lowest ratio of birth by teenage moms. Only 3.5 percent of mothers were teenagers here, while over half of babies were born to teenagers in the United States.

The rate of births among unmarried couples marked only 1.3 percent in Korea, the lowest among OECD member countries. The ratio hovered over 50 percent, however, in Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Canada.

Korean women gave birth to their first baby at the age of 29.1 on average, 1.3 years higher than the OECD average.

Source

Comments

[jaybomb.livejournal.com]

Only 3.5 percent of mothers were teenagers here, while over half of babies were born to teenagers in the United States.

That's just...wow America.

[herro-kitty.livejournal.com]

idgi >50% in the US and 3,5% in Korea? O_O such a huge difference

[maisoui.livejournal.com]

Très bien, France. :O

So does this mean that Korea is also facing the aging population crisis? Seems so.

Maybe more women would be inclined to get married/have more children if they weren't expected to be housewives/could actually earn substantial pay to help support the family. :\

[v-rosesandwine.livejournal.com]

ia. the government needs to at least support them if they want something to change.

[izabera.livejournal.com]

"Korea also recorded the lowest ratio of birth by teenage moms."
I'm a bit sceptical about that one. Do they count babies given away for adoption in these statistics?

[borninjeans.livejournal.com]

There are a lot of illegal abortions going on here. Not a lot of teens complete term.

[herro-kitty.livejournal.com]

deep-rooted gender discrimination =(((

brb, moving to France

[hero-jelly.livejournal.com]

Gender discrimination? That's just horrible. :(
"Only 3.5 percent of mothers were teenagers here, while over half of babies were born to teenagers in the United States."
Wow....you see babies pop out of teenage girls in America everywhere.

[iheartomntd.livejournal.com]

damn Korea... why everytime I start having mad love for you, you throw something like this in my face.

I need to move back to mainland France. Thank goodness for dual-citizenship

[xcherryblossomx.livejournal.com]

there is a huge gap between genders not only in korea but in other asians countries and latin american countries D:

[iheartdarkblue.livejournal.com]

So much for me moving to Korea...

[devourlove.livejournal.com]

this.

[pon-pon-pink.livejournal.com]

my thoughts....and i thought we were so ~progressive~

[polysweet.livejournal.com]

Only 3.5 percent of mothers were teenagers here, while over half of babies were born to teenagers in the United States.

I see pregnant girls everywhere~ It's a ridiculous situation :|

LOL and I'm ambitious. I'll be damned if a man gets paid more than me just because he's a man. He had better be more skilled/educated.

[jaybomb.livejournal.com]

I see pregnant girls everywhere~ It's a ridiculous situation :|

ikr? Me too. What has happened to this country. I know two pregnant 14-year-olds.

[cinis.livejournal.com]

Why is Germany on rank three? /sad

[missjoongie.livejournal.com]

wow what a coincidence I just saw this on KBS News XD

[xxsmiiles.livejournal.com]

Korea also recorded the lowest ratio of birth by teenage moms. Only 3.5 percent of mothers were teenagers here, while over half of babies were born to teenagers in the United States.

DENG. lol I don't know what the rate is for Canada but I'm guessing it's pretty high too? :|

I remember my friends and I used to have conversations consisting of "Oh, did you hear _____ is pregnant?" or "Did you know ______ got an abortion?" There's always something to gossip about because a lot of teenagers get knocked up frequently. I don't hear it as often anymore after I got out of high school.

[maisoui.livejournal.com]

I like how this article was originally about wage differences between genders, but became a discussion about pregnancy/contraceptive education. lol :D

[twelvethirty.livejournal.com]

I'm really surprised all of you are focusing on the low teenage pregnancy rate in Korea when those differences in wages are staggering. 38%? I'm sorry but that's just as awful as teenage pregnancy. I'm surprised Japan is almost as bad.

Also,
The rate of births among unmarried couples marked only 1.3 percent in Korea, the lowest among OECD member countries.

this concerns me too, it's making it seem like marriage is a necessity dictated by society over there, am I right?

[anewsymphony.livejournal.com]

completely. an unmarried woman over the age of, say, early-30s is pretty much looked down on by Korean society. people would think that something was wrong with her by th time she reached 35. without marriage, it's very hard for Korean women to climb the social ladder. it's pretty sad :/

[freakative.livejournal.com]

on the whole US teenage pregnancy statistic, i dont think you can only blame "irresponsible" teenagers...
At the high school I went to (or even the city I lived in) it was popular for girls to have kids and get married at the end of senior year or right after graduation because they wanted to be moms/housewives rather than getting a job or go to college

definitely not my dream, but hey...

[finalfantasyo13.livejournal.com]

omg...:(
it's their lives, but well..that's interesting.

[ruginthesky.livejournal.com]

That really sucks.

[xradiostatic.livejournal.com]

wow. the percentage for korea is just...;___;

i'm not sure why, but i'm surprised the U.S. is that far down the list. idk i thought we were still kinda off in terms of equal salary for men and women. obviously we still are since we're a bit higher than average percentages but still. :/

[tyreling.livejournal.com]

... that's one HUGE gap. And I thought here in my country the gender discrimination is the worst. -_-

[flufy-umbreon.livejournal.com]

the U.K. also marked over a 20-percent wage difference between the genders
Ew, UK. Sort yourself out >:( *moves*

Males getting paid more than females in the exact same job irks me beyond belief. It just defies any logic at all. Stupid gender discrimination.

[anewsymphony.livejournal.com]

as much as I hate to admit it, there are purely economic reasons why women will never be able to get equal pay, find it hard to break through the glass ceiling etc. however, 38% is ridiculous and clearly most of that is accounted for by gender discrimination :(

[beautifiers.livejournal.com]

is anyone else NOT surprised at this?

[xcherryblossomx.livejournal.com]

its a big problems not only in korea but in other asian and latin american countries.
In Mexico we even have a bigger employment rate gap between males and females D:

[ijiified.livejournal.com]

Korean women: not working, not popping out babies... What do they do? 0______0

[anewsymphony.livejournal.com]

the housework? lol

[devourlove.livejournal.com]

why do I always feel embarrassed when the rate of American teenage childbirth rates is shown?

A bunch of girls in my school come in pregnant and proud =_= Even some of the female teachers are pregnant...Way to send a message. Not saying teachers can't have babies, but all of these pregnant women walking around in a school...

I met a girl who was about 17-18, and she said both her and her 13 year old sister were pregnant...dear g.o.d. >_<;;

[finalfantasyo13.livejournal.com]

NO. just NO...:(
D:

[theweathertoday.livejournal.com]

38%? good god.

[kanaala.livejournal.com]

it's official. i'm moving to France after all XD