The government will expand ministries with dedicated gender equality policy units from the current nine to 24.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on the 15th announced core initiatives for the second half of the year, centered on the above, during a ministry briefing held at the Blue House state guesthouse with President Lee Jae-myung in attendance.
A dedicated gender equality policy unit is an organization that reflects a gender equality perspective from policy formulation to budgeting, and it is currently operated by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL), the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and the Korean National Police Agency. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family plans to broaden this to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and others.
It will also expand the public menstrual product support program, currently being piloted in 12 regions, nationwide. The program installs menstrual product dispensers at public facilities such as community service centers and public libraries, near transit hubs and commercial facilities with high foot traffic, and near university districts with many single-person youth households, so anyone can use menstrual products for free. Pilot programs are underway in ▲ Gwangjin District, Seoul ▲ Eunpyeong District, Seoul ▲ Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi ▲ Suwon, Gyeonggi ▲ Seocheon County, South Chungcheong ▲ Jung District, Daejeon ▲ Jeongeup, North Jeolla ▲ Mokpo, South Jeolla ▲ Buk District, Gwangju ▲ Gumi, North Gyeongsang ▲ Geochang, South Gyeongsang ▲ Jeju City, Jeju Province.
It will also establish a legal basis for the employment equality disclosure system. The system requires corporations with 500 or more full-time employees to disclose the number of male and female employees and executives, average tenure, average pay, median pay gaps, and the use of work-family balance programs. Corporations that participate in disclosure even if they are not required to will receive incentives.
On gender-based violence, it will push to amend the anti-stalking act to define controlling behaviors in dating violence as stalking. Starting next month, it will identify causes of cases and gaps in laws and systems through a study titled "case analysis of deaths from violence in intimate relationships."