The gender pay gap in listed firms and public institutions narrowed to 26 percent last year, the first time it dropped below 30 percent since 2019, gender ministry data showed Friday.
Men working at listed firms earned an average of 98.57 million won (US$74,201) per person last year, while their women counterparts received 72.59 million won, according to analysis of 2,647 listed firms and 339 public institutions collected by the gender ministry.
The gender pay gap, or the rate of men’s average pay to that of women, was 26.3 percent, a 4.4 percentage-point drop from 30.7 percent the previous year.
The hike in women’s wages by 20.6 percent last year, compared to 13.6 percent for that of men, likely had an impact on narrowing the wage gap, the gender ministry said.
It also pointed to the slight increase in the ratio of women hires, which marked 27.7 percent last year, and the length of tenure with 9.1 years as reasons for drawing down the gap.
Men served an average of 11.9 years in listed companies and wom
en served 9.1 years, with the difference in their career length marking 23 percent last year.
This file photo, taken July 23, 2024, shows workers walking near Seoul’s Gangnam Station. (Yonhap)
By industrial sector, arts, sports and leisure companies reported the lowest gender difference in pay with 16.5 percent, followed by education services at 18.5 percent, and electricity, gas and air conditioning suppliers at 19.5 percent.
Employees in business facilities management firms experienced the highest gender pay gap of 46 percent, trailing wholesale and retail businesses posting 43.7 percent and the construction industry at 43.5 percent.
In public institutions, men were paid 78.49 million won on average compared to 60.74 million won for women, marking a 22.7 percent difference, a 2.5 percent drop year-on-year.
The average number of years of employment for men was 29 percent longer than that of their female counterparts last year, with men serving an average of 14.1 years and women 10 years.
“It’s meaningf
ul that women’s time served in work has increased, while the gender pay gap has narrowed,” said Vice Gender Minister Shin Young-sook, vowing to help women stay in the workplace and establish a work culture that both genders can look after and work together.
The gender ministry has been disclosing the data on gender wage gaps since 2021 when it first announced the statistics from 2019 and 2020.
Source: Yonhap News Agency