Support for young women seeking to enter fields such as science, technology, and advanced industries will be strengthened. Measures to support work-life balance for working mothers will also be established.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family noted on the 17th that it announced the ‘4th Basic Plan for Promoting Economic Activities by Women and Preventing Career Interruptions (2025-2029)’ at the ‘18th Gender Equality Committee’ held last month.
While the policy target of the 3rd Basic Plan, implemented from 2020 to last year, focused on ‘women with career interruptions,’ the current Basic Plan emphasizes strengthening economic activity support for women across their entire life span, including youth, middle-aged, and older women.
First, efforts will be made to enhance the economic activity capabilities of young women preparing to enter society and to strengthen support for entry into science, technology, and advanced industries. To this end, employment and career guides will be prepared for new industries, and a specialized employment support service model combined with future new industries strengths in the region will be developed.
Support will be provided for the Innovation Convergence University project that operates 'level-specific converged curriculum' in advanced fields, and a 'survey on the utilization of young and female talent in advanced industries' will be conducted to use as policy material for nurturing talent in the industrial technology sector.
Support will also be strengthened for middle-aged and older women whose careers have been interrupted due to childbirth or childcare. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family plans to provide a monthly vocational education training participation allowance of 100,000 won (up to four times) to trainees at the Women's New Work Center (New Work Center) to alleviate economic burdens and encourage active participation in training.
The childcare support system for working parents will be expanded, and the system for alternative workforce support funds and work-sharing support funds targeting small and medium-sized enterprises will also be strengthened. The eligibility for participation in the Women’s Startup Competition will be relaxed from 'prospective entrepreneurs and those who have been in business for less than three years' to 'prospective entrepreneurs and those who have been in business for less than seven years,' and support for commercialization of patented technologies and inventions will be increased to enhance support for women entrepreneurs.
They also decided to diversify employment support services at the New Work Center for single parents or marriage immigrant women to discover candidates wishing to enter the construction industry, a vulnerable sector for women's employment. Efforts to expand awards for female artisans will also be promoted.