S. Korea's gender equality index rises for 5th year in 2019: govt. report

South Korea's national gender equality level improved for the fifth straight year in 2019, as more women were appointed to senior government posts and committees, a government report showed Thursday.

The country's gender equality index stood at 73.6 out of 100 in 2019, inching up 0.5 points from the previous year, according to the report by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The index measures gender equality in eight major categories: family, welfare, health, economic activities, decision-making, education and job-training, culture information and safety.

The biggest on-year increase came in the decision-making category, rising from 36.2 in 2018 to 38.1 in 2019. The ministry attributed the on-year increase to a growing number of women in senior government posts and committees.

The percentage of women at government committee posts rose 1.1 percentage points on-year to 43 percent in 2019, while the percentage of public servants of level 4 or higher posts rose 2.1 percentage points to 19.3 percent.

The safety category also saw a rise from 64.9 in 2018 to 66.7 in 2019, while the result for the family category also rose from 61.2 to 62.8 on the back of a rise in men who took parental leave.

By region, Gwangju, Daejeon, Busan and Jeju were some areas where gender equality was tallied at highest. In contrast, gender equality level remained low in South and North Gyeongsang, South Jeolla and South Chungcheong provinces.

"While the level of gender equality is consistently improving, there is still a gap depending on categories," said minister Chung Young-ai, pledging to push for effective measures that can improve gender equality. (Yonhap)