1. Family Policy : an International Perspective
Seminar presentation:
Ministry of Gender, Equality and Family
10 October, 2007, Seoul, Korea
Willem Adema
Head, Asian Social and Health Outreach, OECD (

2. Presentation outline OECD Work on family policy
The demographic context
What are family policy objectives across the OECD area?
How does Korea compare in terms of policy and workplace practices?
Options for policy development

3. OECD work - The OECD Family database www.oecd.org/els/social/family
- Babies and Bosses reviews of 13 OECD countries ;
Synthesis issue in November 2007
- Fertility studies
- Employment Outlook chapters
- Starting Strong
- Work on Child Well-being
- The OECD Family database

4. Korea will age more rapidly than most other OECD countries…
Population aged 65 and over, relative to the population aged 20-64, 2000 and 2050

5. Desired and observed total fertility rates, 1981, 1990 and 2000
…in part, because parents have fewer children than they would like and birth rates have fallen...
Desired and observed total fertility rates, 1981, 1990 and 2000

6. 1980 Female employment rates, and total fertility rates 2005
…and countries with high female employment rates now also have the highest fertility rates.
Female employment rates, and total fertility rates
NB Different scales on the horizontal axis of the panels; female employment has increased everywhere

7. Fertility concerns may drive the family policy debate in Korea, but in other OECD countries different policy objectives play a key role
Increasing female employment to sustain economic growth and pension systems
Tackling child poverty
Promoting child development
Gender equity

8. Public spending on family benefits, per cent of GDP, 2003
Policy responses also differ across countries: public family support is limited in Korea…
Public spending on family benefits, per cent of GDP, 2003
Public support included here only concerns items that are exclusively for families (e.g. child payments and allowances, parental leave benefits and childcare support). Spending recorded in other social policy areas as health and housing support also assist families, but not exclusively, and is not included here.

9. …in particular, Nordic countries provide a continuum of care and employment supports
Public spending covers:
Extensive health, housing and education support
Paid parental leave for around one year or more
Public childcare and early education
Out-of-School-Hours care
The policy model is expensive; in Denmark and Sweden tax-to-GDP ratio is 50%.
Therefore, many countries income-test support or leave ‘gaps’ in public family support

10. … as a result, Nordic countries, e. g
… as a result, Nordic countries, e.g. Sweden, frontload investment in families…

11. …while the Korea spending profile reflects education spending patterns.

12. Nevertheless, childcare enrolment rates in Korea are not all that much lower than in most OECD countries..
Average enrolment rate of children aged under three years of age in formal childcare (2004)

13. …and participation in among older children is close to the OECD average.
Average enrolment rate of children aged three to five years of age in pre-school educational programmes (2004)

14. Workplace cultures rather than childcare policy are the main barrier to better work/family balance in Korea
Women are often expected to leave work on marriage/childbirth
Regular employment, pursuing a career and motherhood seem difficult to combine
workplace cultures don’t support work/family balance
Female labour market outcomes are unfavourable

15. Working hours in Korea leave little time for family commitments…
Share of workers by distribution of usual working hours, by gender, 2005

16. Female labour market outcomes are unfavourable…
The proportion of women with supervisory responsibilities is 8%, against 20-30% in many OECD countries.
One third of female workers (and 40 of female workers of childbearing age) are in temporary employment, compared to 18% on average across the OECD

17. Korea has the largest gender pay gap in the OECD

18. …and while educational attainment in Korea has improved markedly for both sexes…

19. …employment among high-skilled women is relatively low in Korea.

20. Korea also needs to better use its ‘female capital’ to avoid shrinking of the labour force
Total labour force from 1980 to 2000, and projections from 2005 to 2030, in thousands
‘Constant rates’: assumes constant labour force participation rates for men and women from 2000 to 2030; ’Gender equity in participation rates’: assumes that female participation rates reach current male participation rates in each country by 2030.

21. To increase employment and birth-rates, Korea needs better family-friendly policies..
More investment in quality formal childcare support through a mix of direct investment and money to parents
Mould parental leave and childcare policies into a coherent system .

22. …but above all Korean workplaces practices need to change
More opportunities for women/mothers to stay/return to regular employment.
Increase the role of performance-related pay
Maintain employer/employee relationship during parental leave
There is not ‘one-size-fits all solution’, but ‘right to request flexibility’ legislation could help find employers and employees find solutions that suit them both

23. More information http://www.oecd.org/els/social/family
D'Addio, A-C. and M. Mira d'Ercole (2005), “Trends and Determinants of Fertility Rates in OECD Countries: The Role of Policies”, Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 27, OECD, Paris (
OECD (2002), Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life, Vol. 1, Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands.
OECD (2003), Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life, Vol. 2, Austria, Ireland and Japan.
OECD (2004), Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life, Vol. 3,
New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland.
OECD (2005), Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life, Vol. 4, Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
OECD (2006), Starting Strong, Early Education and Care.
OECD (2007), Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life: A Synthesis of findings for OECD countries, November .