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Study: Two Thirds of All Divorces Suggested by Women

Posted July. 01, 2005 05:54,   

한국어

Women are feeling that marriage and childbearing is a burden.

A study found that the younger women are, the more their view of marriage becomes negative.

A total of 86.2 percent of women aged over 60 answered a survey in favor of getting married by either answering “one should get married” or “one had better get married,” whereas 53.7 percent of women in their 20s, and a mere 46.9 percent of women aged 15 to 19, went along with the idea of getting married.

Meanwhile, 42 percent of women in their 20s and 46.4 percent of women aged 15 to 19 answered that getting married doesn’t matter, and is optional. Concerning the above view of getting married is optional, 19.6 percent of women in their 50s, and just 10.3 percent of women aged over 60 agreed.

With regard to an obstacle to getting a job, 41.1 percent of the surveyed women selected child rearing, 21.7 percent said social prejudice and discriminatory practices and systems, 13.2 percent chose an unequal working environment, and 9.2 percent of the surveyed picked household duties.

In a survey comprising of the same questions that were asked in 1998, 31.4 percent of women selected child rearing, which indicates that women feel the increasing pressure of child rearing as time goes by.

In addition, regarding divorce and proposals for separation, the wife (66.7 percent) is less hesitant to suggest it than the husband (33.6 percent).

Still a Long and Bumpy Road Ahead for Equality of the Sexes-

The ratio of female applicants who passed the state exam for administrative officials increased from 25.1 percent in 2002 to 38.4 percent in 2004, and the ratio of female lawmakers grew from 1.0 percent in 1992 to 13.0 percent in 2004, which show that an increasing number of women advance into high-ranking positions and professional occupations.

Currently, women account for 18.4 percent of doctors, 21.9 percent of dentists, 12.1 percent of oriental medical doctors, and 62.1 percent of pharmacists. Also, the rate of households that are maintained primarily by women increased from 12.8 percent in 1975 to 19.5 percent as of now in 2005.

However, 72.4 percent of women answered that sexual discrimination exists in social life, which reflects that women still feel a lack of equality of the sexes.

Regarding the places where women felt sexual discrimination against men, 69.1 percent of women said that they felt sexual discrimination at their workplace, while 40.9 percent said at home, and 32.9 percent answered at school.

It was discovered that women’s understanding of sexual discrimination is well-founded by the statistics in which among the female workers, the ratio of professional occupation and administrative position was 16.9 percent lower than that of male workers (23.1 percent), and female worker’s wages were only 56 percent of the average of male workers.

Subsequently, Korea ranked 29th in the equality of the sexes of the nations, while Japan, and China, which share the same background of Confucianism, came in 12th, and 71st, respectively.



Byong-Ki Lee eye@donga.com