Although women have made tremendous gains in entering male-dominated workplaces in South Korea over the last two decades, the majority of professional women confront persistently negative work environments that result from patriarchal characteristics of national and organizational workplace culture in South Korea. While researchers have discussed gender equality in executive branch and private sector organizations in South Korea, there has received little attention to this topic with respect to the staff organization of the National Assembly although it, like other political arenas in Korea, is strongly male-dominated.

This study examines how specific aspects of patriarchal culture affect the work conditions of female staff in the offices of South Korean National Assemblymen/women, and how female staff perceive and respond to this work environment. In particular, this study focuses on the impact of socio-cultural elements that are embedded in a traditional patriarchal system on female staff’s (1) job roles, (2) hiring processes, (3) career advancement, (4) relationships, (5) networking opportunities, (6) overall job satisfaction, and (7) work-life balance. Data for this study were collected through 25 in-depth unstructured interviews with female staff in the different offices of Korean National Assembly in the summer of 2012, and the interview transcripts were analyzed inductively following the procedures and techniques of grounded theory(Corbin & Strauss, 2007).

The analysis of the in-depth interview data identified a number of situations that relate to visible and invisible gender inequalities associated with elements of masculine and collectivist organizational cultures, which reflect the larger social context. The findings indicate that women face gender stereotyping, exclusion from informal but potentially important social gatherings, less respect from subordinates and other government employees than men, different job roles, disadvantages with respect to employment and promotion, and sometimes verbal sexual harassment. Moreover, family obligations imposed by the larger societal culture interact the organizational obstacles, reinforcing the glass ceiling. Interestingly, the study revealed differences among female staff in perceptions of and strategies used to overcome gendered constraints in the organization. While some women try to “behave like men,” others try to avoid the masculine culture; and, in general, women in higher positions differentiate themselves from women in lower positions. Overall, the findings show that women struggle with subtle and overt obstacles even in the place where rules and laws related to gender equality are made. This study not only captures the reality of struggles of women in a male-dominated workplace, bus also contributes to our understanding of the impact of national and organizational culture on female workers in the public sector.

Reference

Corbin, Juliet, & Strauss, Anselm. (2007). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory: Sage Publications, Incorporated.