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0=complete gender inequality). From the top

Gender equality in South Korea is still receiving low marks. “Research on the Effective Establishment of Gender Mainstreaming System,” a report released on Mar. 3 by Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI), an affiliate of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF), revealed that the index of gender equality in South Korea as of 2008 was 0.594. In this analysis, 0 represents complete gender inequality, while 1 represents complete gender equality.

MOGEF said, “This report represents the first time researchers have attempted to measure the gender equality by adopting the Gender Equality Index developed by the civic organization Social Watch.” MOGEF also said, “This research measured the gender equality index in eight fields including health, culture and information, education and vocational training, economic activity, safety, family affairs, welfare and decision making.”

The gender equality index shows that there has been only a minute improvement, by 0.01, since 2005 when the number stood at 0.584.

Specifically, the decision-making figure was 0.116, the lowest of the index. The number of female lawmakers (41 individuals) represent 13.7 percent of lawmakers in the National Assembly, and government employees above the fifth degree (2,064 individuals) represents just 10 percent of all employees in those positions as of 2008.

Kim Tae-hong, a senior researcher of KWDI, said, “The society and government need to improve the gender equality, especially in the areas such as decision making, welfare and family affairs.”

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