Traditionally, Korean women were expected to take charge of domestic activities, while men were seen as the “breadwinners” of the household. Even well-educated women often found it difficult to compete in the labor market because of fears among employers that they would leave their jobs after a few years to raise children.

A recent study indicated that women filled nearly 60% of the new jobs created in Korea’s financial sector in 2006. In addition, almost 70% of new jobs in law, medicine, and academics were filled by women. While the number of women working in the IT sector is plummeting in many parts of the developed world, numbers are relatively high and increasing in Korea. Around 38% of recent graduates in the IT field were women (compared with just over 20% in Western Europe). Women are also becoming increasingly visible in management and executive roles for both local and foreign companies in Korea.

Overall, women now constitute more than 42% of the Korean labor force, a rise from 40% only 5 years ago. By comparison, the United States workforce comprises 46% women.

The upward trend in the number of women in the Korean labor force is encouraging for HR managers, who are currently dealing with shortages of skilled labor in some sectors. While gender discrimination is still rampant at some local Korean firms, many foreign firms are taking the opportunity to hire and retain highly qualified women who have been rejected by the traditional Korean system.