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Policy efforts to increase women faculty in Korea: reactions and changes at universities

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Abstract

Since 2001, the issue of the low ratio of women faculty in universities has been prominent in Korea because of its negative impact on female students and gender equality at the university level that has affected human resource development and utilization at the national level. To address this issue, the Korean government developed and executed an education policy, the Policy on Women Faculty Increase (PWFI) from 2004 to 2006. This paper investigated reactions to the PWFI and changes made as a result of the policy in the conservative Korean higher education context. We found that although the PWFI has particularly contributed to increasing the representativeness of women faculty in areas in which women faculty used to be rare, overall the PWFI has not made significant improvements in most participating universities due to the lack of internal motives and drivers and effective systems to support the policy. Recommendations for improvements in the policy are offered.

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Notes

  1. Tertiary education includes “Tertiary-type A education” and “Tertiary-type B education” According to OECD (2009), tertiary-type A education refers to the programs which are largely theory-based and are designed to provide sufficient qualifications for entry to advanced research programs and professions with high skill requirements. They have a minimum cumulative duration of 3 years, although they typically last four or more years. Tertiary-type B programs focus on practical, technical or occupational skills for direct entry into the labor market. They have a minimum duration of 2 years full-time equivalent at the tertiary level.

  2. The title of the Ministry has been renamed to “The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology” as of 2008.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development, Texas A & M University, 511 Harrington Tower, College Station, TX, 77843-4226, USA

    Namhee Kim

  2. University of Minnesota, 1400 South Second St. B104, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA

    Hea Jun Yoon

  3. Texas A & M University, 555 Harrington Tower, College Station, TX, 77843-4226, USA

    Gary N. McLean

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Correspondence to Namhee Kim.

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Kim, N., Yoon, H.J. & McLean, G.N. Policy efforts to increase women faculty in Korea: reactions and changes at universities. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 11, 285–299 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-010-9094-0

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