Out of 10 women who returned to work after leaving their jobs due to pregnancy, childbirth, or caregiving, 4 received lower pay than before. It also took an average of 4 years to find a new job after a career break.
According to the report "Seoul gender-equal employment policy research," published on the 12th by the Seoul Foundation of Women & Family, 42.5% of women who succeeded in finding a job again after a career break said their wages decreased after the break.
The foundation surveyed 2,754 employed men and women ages 19 to 64 living in Seoul. Of these, 2,045 were women and 709 were men.
By contrast, the share of men who said their pay fell in the job they returned to after a career break was 25.0%, lower than for women.
Among respondents, 565 people (513 women and 52 men) experienced a career break due to pregnancy, childbirth, or caregiving.
It also took women longer to find new jobs after experiencing a career break. Women took an average of 48.4 months, compared with 20.4 months for men.
Among respondents, the share in regular positions was 65.3% for women, lower than 73.6% for men.
Average monthly wages were 2.875 million won for women, less than 3.885 million won for men. By contrast, women's average daily working hours were 7.8 hours, shorter than men's 8.3 hours.
The share who said they experienced "negative evaluations due to taking parental leave or using reduced working hours" after joining the company was 25.9% for women and 14.8% for men, higher for women.
The report said, "It was confirmed that many women face career breaks during childbirth and child-rearing and still face difficulties in job hunting even when reentering the workforce," and suggested, "Seoul's employment policies need to be redesigned to narrow gender gaps and resolve structural inequality."