[경제]Companies in a hurry… “Take a female outside director”

[경제]Companies in a hurry… “Take a female outside director”

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[앵커]

With the recent shareholders’ meeting season, companies are fiercely competing to recruit female outside directors.

This is because of the amendment to the Capital Markets Act, which requires that companies with assets exceeding 2 trillion won must have female outside directors.

With the expectation that it will be an opportunity to break the glass ceiling, there are also companies appealing for job hunting.

This is reporter Lee Ji-eun.

[기자]

POSCO appointed former Environment Minister Yoo Young-sook as outside director at this shareholders’ meeting.

[최정우 / 포스코 회장 : ESG(환경·사회·지배구조) 경영에 대한 이사회의 역할에 크게 기여할 것으로 기대되어….]

She is the first female outside director since its founding in 1968.

Like POSCO, there are about 30 large companies that elect a female outside director for the first time at a shareholders’ meeting in March.

As a result, the number of large corporations with only male outside directors will decrease from 229 to 194, and the share of female outside directors will nearly double.

It is because of the amendment to the Capital Markets Act that companies are rushing to recruit female outside directors.

The amendment prevents listed corporations with assets exceeding KRW 2 trillion from constituting the board of directors with only a specific gender.

[유영숙 / 포스코 사외이사 : 지금은 여성 사외이사가 한 명 이상이라고 되어 있는데 저는 그 효과가 앞으로는 여성 임원들을 육성하는데 촉진이 될 거라고 생각을 하고요.]

In Korea, where the’glass ceiling index’, which shows women’s discrimination in the workplace, is the last in the OECD for 9 consecutive years, there is high hope that this will lead to changes.

[박주근 / CEO스코어 대표 : 유럽이나 미국에서도 의무화 도입, 즉 강제할당제가 이미 도입되고 있습니다. 이러한 것들이 여성의 진출, 유리 천장을 깨는데 상당히 많은 역할을 해왔습니다.]

However, many companies complain that it is difficult to find outside directors with expertise within a limited group of candidates.

[김용춘 / 전국경제인연합회 홍보팀장 : (이사나 임원진이 되려면) 대개 평균 20년 이상의 재직 경력, 사회경력이 필요한데 여성이 본격적으로 사회진출을 하기 시작한 역사가 길지 않아서 좀 인력 풀이 부족한 부분이 있고]

Companies are busy looking for female outside directors in a hurry ahead of the deadline set for next summer.

YTN Lee Ji-eun[[email protected]]is.

[저작권자(c) YTN & YTN plus 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]

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