Skip to main content

The Status of Women Leaders in South Korea: Challenges and Opportunities

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Korean Women in Leadership

Part of the book series: Current Perspectives on Asian Women in Leadership ((CPAWL))

Abstract

The development and utilization of women in South Korea has been limited. Women’s participation in the labor market is low, and their leadership roles in both public and private sectors are limited. Due to the country’s paternalistic culture and gender divide, a glass ceiling prevails in every corner of society. As organizations in Korea are male-dominated in ways that encourage men’s leadership and work styles, women leaders in the workplace are pressured to act like their male counterparts. In this uniquely Korean context, we review the literature on women in leadership, discuss the status of women leaders in diverse sectors, examine challenges women leaders face in the gendered workplace, and introduce the government’s women-friendly policies and programs that will bring about more opportunities for women leaders.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kim, Y., Cho, Y. (2018). The Status of Women Leaders in South Korea: Challenges and Opportunities. In: Cho, Y., McLean, G. (eds) Korean Women in Leadership. Current Perspectives on Asian Women in Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64271-0_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64271-0_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-64270-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64271-0

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics