MJ Song, a South Korean working mother with a four-year-old son, considers herself lucky because she has been able to work for one company for more than 15 years without her career being hindered by starting a family.
Her employer, a unit of Shinhan Financial Group, offers generous pay and benefits such as baby bonuses, childcare allowances and flexible working, allowing her to balance work and family life in a country notorious for long working hours and rigid corporate cultures.
Song took two years of maternity leave after her son was born then worked for four hours a day for a year, receiving half her normal salary. Shinhan also allows women to work two hours fewer a day during pregnancy and employees with children in their first two years of primary school to start work an hour later.
“I am satisfied with my job as the salary is high with a lot of benefits for working moms,” says Song. “The workload is heavy, but my PC gets automatically turned off after 6pm. It has been relatively easy to balance work and family life, while most of my friends have quit their jobs after childbirth.”
Korean financial groups have been one of the most coveted workplaces among female graduates, thanks to their competitive pay and childcare-related perks, despite technology causing wider cuts to the industry’s workforce.
