Objectivity Enhanced With New Evaluation Criteria and Data Disclosure [2026 Gender Equality Index]

③ How the Asia Gender Equality Index Is Compiled
Employment 30, Compensation 20, Promotion 20, Work-Life Balance 20, Others 10 Points
New Metrics: 'Permanent Employment Gender Gap', 'Ratio of Female Non-Registered Executives'
Verification B

Editor's NoteNumbers gain power the moment they are made public. Since the parental leave usage rate began to be publicly disclosed last year, the number of companies where the male usage rate remained in the single digits nearly halved within one year. These changes in the workplace are also behind the projection that this year’s total fertility rate will return to the 0.9 range for the first time in seven years. Now in its 11th year, the Asia Gender Equality Index analyzes data from 137 companies and voices from the field to pinpoint both the progress and the limitations of our workplaces. Transparent data transforms workplaces, and changes in the workplace hold the key to solving low birthrates. The Asia Gender Equality Index aims to both measure and accelerate this transformation.

The Asia Business Daily has redesigned the evaluation standards of the ‘Asia Gender Equality Index’ for its 11th year, placing greater emphasis on ‘verifiable disclosures’ and ‘quality over quantity’.

The core structure of the evaluation, designed by Professor Jeon Iyoung of the Korea Labor and Employment Training Institute, has been preserved. The 100-point system is divided into five areas: employment (30 points), compensation (20 points), advancement (20 points), work-life balance (20 points), and other (10 points), with a total of 19 refined sub-categories. The business report is the primary source, supplemented by government releases, sustainability reports, and data confirmed through individual reporting for verification.

The most significant change is in the employment category. The item ‘percentage of women in new hires’ (10 points), which is difficult to verify through disclosure data, has been removed. In its place, a new metric — the ‘ratio of women in permanent positions to men in permanent positions’ (10 points) — has been introduced. This shifts the focus from the ‘quantity’ to the ‘quality’ of female employment and serves as an indicator of the gender gap in employment stability. In addition, the proportion of women among permanent employees (10 points) and the five-year growth rates for these two subcategories (5 points each) were included to evaluate both scale and trends in improvement.

In the advancement category, instead of using the previously survey-based ‘percentage of women in management positions’, a new criterion based on business report disclosures — specifically, the ‘percentage of women among non-registered executives’ (10 points) — has been included. Since each company defines ‘management positions’ differently, accurately gauging the figure through surveys had limitations, and this change addresses that discrepancy. This allows the promotion pipeline for female talent to be assessed with verifiable numbers. Full points are given to companies with a rate exceeding 50%, and partial points are allocated in stages. In combination with the evaluation of the number of female internal directors (5 points for two or more, 3 points for one) and the percentage of female outside directors (full points for a rate of 50% or more), the advancement category distinctly scrutinizes how many women have made it into the executive and board levels, respectively. This means that simply appointing one woman to the board or increasing only the number of female executives will not be enough to earn a high score.

The compensation category evaluates the ratios of women’s to men’s average years of service and annual salary (10 points each), setting the mid-point score for an average ratio in the 70% range, with a graduated scale above and below this. The work-life balance category is assessed using the overall rate of parental leave usage and flexible work system adoption (10 points each) with the previous method. If multiple programs are used in combination and utilization exceeds 100%, full points are awarded. In the ‘other’ section, the score for government certifications and awards, such as family-friendly certification, has been increased to 6 points to encourage broader participation. Voluntary efforts such as in-house childcare, nursing rooms, leadership programs, and support for women returning to work after a career break are now scored at 4 points. Where data could not be confirmed through business reports, sustainability reports, state statistics, or direct investigation, zero points were given.

The survey subjects are the top 100 domestic listed companies by separate financial statements and 37 financial corporations. The financial sector sample includes 11 banks (the four major banking groups, three regional financial groups, and internet-only banks), the top 10 securities firms, three life insurance companies, five non-life insurance companies, and eight credit card companies.

This year, Amorepacific, Krafton, and SK Innovation newly joined the top 100 companies. All five-year data since 2021 was thoroughly re-verified, with the collected raw data exceeding 13,000 entries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.