Poster #112 - The Paradox of Human Capital? Gendered Patterns of Precarious Work in South Korea

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

Precarious work, characterized by temporary employment, low wages, and limited social protection, disproportionately impacts marginalized groups such as women, youth, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities. This study specifically focuses on women in South Korea, examining how precarious work intersects with deeply rooted patriarchal norms. Despite South Korea’s robust economic growth, increased female labor force participation, and a shift toward flexible employment structures, the experiences of Korean women in precarious employment remain largely underrepresented in international research. This represents a critical gap, as the gendered nature of precarious work must be contextualized within each country’s unique sociocultural landscape.

Employing a multidimensional analytical framework, this study investigates gender disparities in precarious work across occupational strata and identifies gendered patterns of individual characteristics, including education, marital, and parental statuses, as predictors of precarious employment. We develop a composite index of precarious work by simultaneously incorporating employment, wage, and social protection insecurities, through a hedonic weighting approach, which creates eight distinct configurations. Using longitudinal data from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) spanning 2001 to 2019, findings illustrate a notable paradox: despite Korean women's higher educational attainment, they experience substantially greater precarious work compared to their male counterparts, challenging traditional human capital theory.

Instead, our study highlights that despite perceived shifts in societal norms and structures, South Korea’s Confucian gender regime continues to reinforce gender disparities. Patriarchal sociocultural norms remain a critical barrier to women’s access to stable employment, even when their human capital matches or exceeds that of men. This study further shows substantial variability influenced by occupational status, marital, and parental statuses, with working mothers disproportionately occupying precarious employment positions. Conversely, men’s vulnerability depends more on occupational classifications, demonstrating complex patterns of precarious work inadequately captured by traditional single-dimensional analyses. Overall, our study calls for targeted, culturally informed policy interventions that address both structural market inequalities and the sociocultural foundations to improve employment stability and gender equity.

Author

• Seo-Young Byun, The Ohio State University
  Presenting Author