South Korea Slips Backwards in Gender Equality: Data

Image: Graph of select country's change in gender bias between 2010-2014 and 2017-2022.  Credit: United Nations Development Programme.

A recent study by the United Nations Development Programme found, by now unsurprisingly, that South Korea fares miserably in sexism. According to the UNDP report released June 12, only about 10% of South Koreans demonstrated no gender biases in a 2018 survey - a far cry from countries like New Zealand or Sweden, which lead the world with over 70% of respondents demonstrating no gender biases, and an embarrassment even compared to peer countries like Japan (41%). Not a single advanced industrial country scored as low as South Korea.

Even more alarming is the trend line. The study also included how the countries progressed on gender bias compared to a UNDP study conducted in 2010. South Korea is the only advanced industrial country where gender bias became stronger in the intervening years: in 2010, approximately 15% of South Koreans demonstrated no gender bias.