CHALLENGE AND CHANGE
Most organizations in Korea are slowly moving from a monolithic culture, in which one demographic group (males) prevails in decision-making positions, toward a pluralistic one, in which minorities, such as women, are allowed to enter, even though pressured to follow norms set by the majority. Therefore women who are in the higher positions face many challenges.
These token women share such common experiences as increased visibility, social isolation, performance pressures, and conflicting pressures arising from the different societal stereotypes for leaders and for women. As a consequence these women leaders are more likely than men to have their mistakes amplified, to be isolated as a social out-group, and to be encapsulated in roles that undermine their status. As one said, “first women” represent “a signal of social change and the denunciation of cumulative discrimination against women in our society.” For individuals, however, being “the first” is a double-edged sword. It is at one and the same time a token of glory and a burden.
According to research by Y. Kim and H. S. Kim (published by the Korean Women's Development Institute in 2000, in a report titled A Comparative Study on Male and Female Corporate Managers' Leadership), women leaders often experience negative expectations, resistance, and sabotage. One male worker hinted at a possible reason for employees' lower expectations of female managers when he said of one manager: “It was hard for her to come this far, and she won't be able to go any further,” and, “She won't be able to take me with her even if she gets promoted, because she lacks connections.” The study revealed that in many cases, female and male managers with the same title in an organization do not enjoy an equal level of authority. Also, it takes longer for female managers to gain legitimacy, and compared with male managers, they tend to be more occupied with staff work than managerial work, partly because of the difference in their career paths.
In many Korean organizations, loyalty—or organizational commitment, often measured partly by how often employees participate in company events and formal and informal gatherings—is still considered more important than doing good work—or work commitment. Many informal gatherings, such as alumni circles and those for after-work drinks, golf, and saunas, still tend to exclude women. Furthermore, when women do not perform well in organizations that have no objective performance evaluation systems in place, it is difficult to decide how much of the poor performance is the result of a lack of skills and how much is the result of being female in a male-dominated environment.
Another fact to consider: most Korean women now in their late thirties and forties grew up in a culture in which people thought the primary reason for a woman to go to college was to marry a man with a promising future. Despite changing attitudes the strong Confucian influence that still prevails in Korean society fosters a belief that women shouldn't be given positions of power. This belief that women should stick to their traditional roles is illustrated by a popular Korean saying that roughly translates as, “If a hen crows in the morning, everything goes wrong.” Women activists counter, “If a hen crows in the morning, you get an egg.”
Things are beginning to change for the younger generation of women in Korea. According to a recent survey conducted by the National Statistics Office, 94 percent of women aged fifteen to nineteen and 95 percent of women aged twenty to twenty-nine want to work. For these women with high career aspirations, “work is more important than marriage or children,” according to the survey. The 1.16 birth rate in Korea, lowest among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), reflects this new trend. These women are saying, in essence, that to accept unfair treatment and quit one's job is not only a personal sacrifice but also prolongs injustice and carries it on to the next generation—so make a stand: stay and change!
In addition to the equal rights issue, national interest is also at stake. Although Korea was a late starter in the competition for industrialization, its achievement in the past forty years has been remarkable. However, economic and social trends, including growing international competitive challenges, anticipated labor shortages, and the focus on innovation and technology, call for better and more effective development and use of human resources. Women, especially women with higher education, are the underutilized human capital in Korea. Thus McKinsey Consulting has recommended that to make a successful transition to a knowledge-based society, Korea should increase the rate of economic participation by female college graduates to 80 percent by 2010. As of 2003 it was 61 percent, the lowest among OECD member countries.
Although Korea was a late starter in the competition for industrialization, its achievement in the past forty years has been remarkable.
The business case is equally important, as globalization brings new changes to the competitive landscape. It is imperative that Korean companies recognize the benefits of integrating social and ethical considerations into their business objectives. Ensuring gender equality in organizations would be one way of promoting diversity and social equity. Leadership practices, too, create processes for innovation, advance social responsibility, and should, by definition, include the expansion of women's participation in management and leadership positions.