S. Korea's gender income gap highest among OECD members

SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- The income gap between men and women in South Korea is
larger than in any other advanced nation, a report showed Thursday, underlining
deep-rooted gender discrimination in the workplace.
According to the report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, male workers in South Korea earned an average of 38 percent more
than their female counterparts last year.
The difference was the largest among the 30 member countries of the Paris-based
organization and higher than the OECD average of 18.8 percent.
The report attributed the income gap to biases rooted deeply in South Korean
society. Also responsible for the income disparity is the fact that more men have
stable, high-income jobs that their female counterparts.
Japan ranked second in terms of income disparity with 33 percent, followed by
Germany, Austria and Canada with 23 percent, 22 percent and 21 percent,
respectively, the report showed.
South Korea was also among a number of countries where the employment rate for
men is much higher than that for women.
The difference here was 30 percent, the fourth-largest gap among the OECD member
countries. Turkey topped the list with 51 percent, trailed by Mexico with 46
percent and Greece with 32 percent, according to the report.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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