Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

  • Volume 34
  • /
  • Pages.12.1-12.11
  • /
  • 2022
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  • 1225-3618(pISSN)
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  • 2052-4374(eISSN)
The Korean Society of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (대한직업환경의학회)
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Distribution of Korean safety and health professionals from the perspective of gender equality

  • Jeongim Park (Department of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Natural Science, Soonchunhyang University) ;
  • Sohyeon Choi (Department of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Natural Science, Soonchunhyang University) ;
  • Yeji Sung (Graduate School of Public Health and Healthcare Management, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Jinjoo Chung (Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service) ;
  • Sangjun Choi (Graduate School of Public Health and Healthcare Management, The Catholic University of Korea)
  • Received : 2022.01.09
  • Accepted : 2022.04.25
  • Published : 2022.12.31
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Abstract

Background: Gender equality in the workplace remains a challenge. This study aimed to investigate the gender gap of human resources in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH) in Korea. Methods: Several national statistical data that can confirm the gender distribution of personnel in the OSH sector were reviewed. The gender distribution of industrial technical manpower statistics, professional certificate holders in the OSH field, and the status of the appointment of safety and health managers by industry was analyzed. Results: The distribution of professionals in the OSH sector in Korea had a large gender gap with a small number of women. In particular, the proportion of women in the safety field was lower than that in the health field. In the younger age group, while the proportion of women is increasing, the gender gap tends to decrease. Conclusions: Few data are available to understand the gender-related aspects of OSH professions. Nevertheless, our results provide basic information for initiating a discussion on the necessity of establishing gender-sensitive culture and policies in the OSH sector.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the survey participants and Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute (OSHRI) for providing raw 2018 Occupational Safety and Health survey data. The paper's contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of OSHRI. This work was supported by Soonchunhyang University.

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