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GWDC R&D
Gyeonggi Women's Development Center

The Problem

Following the economic crisis IMF, women's economic activities became the target of business structural reform; women's employment structure became unstable. Despite Korean women's economic activity rate has increased, in the process of flexibility in the labor markets, the number of full-time employees was diminished. Percentage of employees to total women workers accounted for 57.7% in 1998; men - 63.0%. Another fact that reflects such instability: the percentage of casual workers among total women workers accounted for 18.1%. By thorough and clear research on the needs of future labor markets and economy, the Center was convinced that the IT software and services industry would be one of the fastest growing field in the Korean economy.
This project has been implemented in the area of Gyeonggi Province since October, 1997 by Gyeonggi Women's Development Center. Gyeonggi Province established GWDC in 1997 as a life-long training & education center for women in the information-based economy.
Although the Korean government has been invested a huge budget in the developing human resources for information technology and in general women belong to the first group, most of IT training courses has been designed and offered by the local government or other non-government organizations remained the basic level of skills. Most of intensive courses which have planned 8 hours a day, so few women can participate in those training programs.
One of the main problems of vocational program for women were based on women's traditional roles, for example, cooking, baby sitting, dressmaking, etc. In spite of preparing the emerging information based society & technologies, there were no room for women integrated into new paradigm.
The project of Gyeonggi Women's Development Center is, however, unique in terms that this project was designed from the beginning and has been implemented in gender sensitive manners. When GWDC has sensed the needs for "Women as IT Professionals", they addressed the problems and barriers that restricts the access of these women - especially housewives - to training programs. And helping women to re-enter into the labor market with a decent job.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Since 1997, Off-line Education with High-skilled IT training for women surely contributed to the social and economic empowerment of poor-skilled women. From September 1997 to December 2007, the IT long-term(5~8 months) training program has produced 1,617 IT specialists, of which 1,320 graduated and 852 students(64.5%) succeeded in getting jobs or starting their own business in the IT areas. And IT short-term(2~3 months) training program has produced 1,670 IT specialists, of which 1,416 students(84.8%) graduated.
The women graduates prepared with IT skills can get a professional jobs in the IT industry where there is less discrimination against them. The entry of women into high-skilled occupations has helped to soften the rigid division of gender roles and job segregation in Korean Society and improved the women's position in the labor markets as an experts. Before they attended the intensive courses, the women had been computer-illiterate and had had low self-esteem. After the training, they not only developed the high leveled skills in the IT field, but also gained self-confidence & self-esteem. Women trainees also networked with among fellow graduates. By inviting company personnel managers to a graduation ceremony and showing women trainees' professional outcomes, the Center opens direct job opportunities for the graduates
Started with 6 tenant companies in 1999, the Women's start-ups Assistance office served as an incubator for 91 start-up companies until January of 2008. Except 14 start-ups out of 91 who are still in business incubation, among 77 start-ups, 37 women have succeeded in businesses. Since, 1999, the women's business incubator office has recorded nearly 33,380 million (KW) and has employed approximately 10,000 persons. These women entrepreneurs not only earned income but also joined into the mainstream of the economy as successful leaders with IT skills. Furthermore, successful business women and women-owned companies themselves play as an important example for the girls and women who are seeking for role-model. Therefore, incubating women politically and strategically into business with management systems has changed variously negative and discriminative business practices of the current male-dominated society as well as improve women's status and value.
Lastly. in 2005, Launching online education networks and contents on Information Technologies & Business Training for Start ups, over 20,000 students are learning through online networks. With three-years online projects, 83 subjects were developed and online system which showing career development path maps for a certain women who wants to find new jobs through online education were also developed.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The Center formed a research and planning committee as the first step in 1997. They searched the demands for the workforce in the IT field. The Center held a public forum to collect opinions while researching statistics and gathering data and information, objectively, on the needs of the women, and surveying local companies whether they would employ these women who were trained at the Center. It took one and a half year to allocate the required budget from the local government. Based on this thorough and long-term analysis on the needs of future labor markets, the Center identified several specific courses on information technology as promising areas for women.
IT educational programs originally designed for the woman seeking for decent jobs. To acquire high-level IT skills, long-term training courses which runs 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for 10 months or one year was provided for middle-aged married women in Korea.
While the information technology and skill shows a short life span and the trend of future development is unpredictable, the Center built a strong and effective partnership with market-based professional training institutes. They decided to subcontract the actual operation of most training programme in order to respond to the market needs timely. To catch up with rapid, new courses are selected carefully based on job market analysis each year.
Most of all, the Center worked with gender-specific perspectives, and they hardly made an effort to improve women's access to the training courses and meet the women's needs as housewives with high burdens of daily domestic labor and child care. To promote the participation in this intensive training program and the concentration on their courses while managing the households affairs and day care, the Center has arranged a commuter bus for them, set the first class at 10:00 for them to take care of the household chores, and also provided the day care for women with children.
Due to the lack of previous work experience or the women's interrupted labor markets experience, the Center addressed this problem by operating job-consciousness raising class and face-to-face counseling as a part of regular courses to boost a sense of profession and to plan a career. Through the specific class, these were operated such as raising self-esteem, aptitude test for job, planning a career, self-management, image-making, self-assertion, training to improve creativity, and training communication skills.
Furthermore, in 1999, the Center opened Business Incubator and connected their graduates to the new business as a chief executive officer. And the Center has established information database on 5,000 agencies including social education, child day care, women experts, woman-owned enterprises, voluntary training center, and women's welfare organizations in Gyeonggi Province needed for women. The Center runs its own internet homepage(www.womenpro.or.kr) and publishes a monthly web magazine called WoORI(Women's Online Resource & Information)to share information and invite more women to the network.

(a) Strategies

 Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
 a.      What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The Center organizes ten-months IT training courses targeting unemployed women, especially housewives who are seeking for a job. Our Center designed the project to prepare the most drastic impact of Information Technology. As we noticed the continuing trend towards a shift from the manufacturing to the service sector especially based on IT. Aiming to develop skills and capabilities through IT training, the project was successful to empower women not only as an IT experts, but also as the true leaders in the business worlds which is predominated by males. To become an experts in the ares of IT, each training courses are renewed every year. Twenty courses are serviced for about 480 women trainees in 2003, 5 to 10 months, long-term courses are including Web Specialists, Electronic Business Master, Power Web Design, Special three Dimensional, Computer-added Design Master, Web Digital Programming, JAVA Mobile, and Web Component Development.
For the short term courses, 2 to 3 months are required, including 2D-design, IT Certification, Flash Script Animation, Mastering Photoshop, Visual Basic, Project Development, and IT Basic.
Based on careful and long analysis, the Center selected Auto CAD, computer graphics, web design, multimedia, computer animation, etc. as promising areas for women. Although they started with such classes, they were very flexible in choosing new courses to catch up with market changes each year. Because of the dynamic characteristics of IT, students are strongly required to upgrade their skills.
Also, this Center uses their own web site as an instrument for on-line information services on women.
In June 2001, UNESCO identified the Center as an excellent model for women's economic empowerment through information and scientific technology education and business start-up assistance. GWDC's unique human resources development model for women has been included in the UN database as a global example for women everywhere to emulate in order to acquire managerial know-how.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
In 1997, one-year after the committee prepared for the opening of GWDC, IT intensive Training programs were launched for helping women to re-enter the labor market as an IT specialist. And in 1999, Business Incubation Office were opened for women start-ups. So the graduated from IT Program also start their own business with the supports of Gyeonggi Province(GWDC). With the establishment of database on women's valuable information since 1997, through upgrading our infomration and networks related to women, we are now information hub for women in Gyeonnggi, also R.O.K. In 2005, we launched online education project, specially for Information technology and business skills.

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
This project was designed on the basis of strategic gender needs, not just on practical gender needs. Strategic gender needs are those which women identify because of their subordinate position to men in their society. It arises from aspirations to improve the position of women in society. Women enshrined in socially-defined gender roles, the gender division of labor, customs, laws and social policy. Gender equality means an equal visibility, empowerment and participation of both sexes in all spheres of public and private life.
The project was started with those gender perspectives, and to achieve gender equality through IT education for women. In tradition, in Korean Society, women has not treated as a professional worker, but just a rearer. Practices and Policies in business are not woman-friendly, even more discriminative. So the project initiatives, especially an expertise on gender issues, ask the question? How to promote gender equality in business area and what practices can empower women and overcome the division of gender roles and job segregation.
As a results, the project surely contributed to the social and economic empowerment of women.
The entrance of women into high-skilled occupations will help to overcome the division of gender roles and job segregation in South Korea. Also establishing network among the graduates and chief executive officer will be an important social asset for women.
The Women's Start-up Assistance, started with six companies in 1999, the office has served as an incubator for forty-seven women-owned companies. In 2003, the Center provides not only office space equipped with IT infrastructure and personnel computers, but also business education like e-biz class, business consulting, and networking with outside resources. The success of the incubated business program for women has been the best practice in the nation so that many GO or NGO women's training centers visit and benchmark the Center.

(d) Use of Resources

 d.      What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The Center developed appraisal instruments and requested the trainees to evaluate each training class for quality control. Monitoring systems are applied to every levels including the women trainees themselves, a lecturer, a person in charege of education planning department of outside private sector, and the student representative.
Regular monitoring is carried out in every quarter and sometimes meeting is held on by the demands of the trainees. Furthermore, through the orientation programme for lecturer, the Center provides an opportunities to understand specific women's barriers in today's labor markets and the needs of empowering women as an IT professional.
To support women's entrepreneurship effectively, continuous evaluating system is essential. On and off line management consulting is done by private consulting groups.
The Center provides business outcome evaluation in every 6 months. Not only by outside professional resources, but also by monthly meeting with other women-owned companies, business networking and mentor system is operated by themselves. The Center has been operating business incubator on the basis of management system learned from the professional consultants around the information technology. Step-by-step management consultancy has been provided by specialized outside organizations. Each of the business education trainees are also surveyed to look up the trainees' satisfaction and to monitor the quality of the instructor. Surveying the state of employment of graduate students is conducted in every half-year and for the post-business incubation companies the Center tracked business outcomes annually.

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
IT-related training programs can be an effective tool for the promotion of women in the emerging knowledge-based economy. Globally, the Center's systematic human resources development programs can be replicated by sharing our management system on IT training, job-consciousness and career building education, and for business start-ups.
For local community, until 2007, our project will be replicated through establishing local centers in Gyeonggi Province. This Center plans to educate and counsel more women by using distance-learning system, called women e-cyber program, and will provide systematic career planning and counselling on job and business start-up.
In developing countries as well as countries with economics in transition, IT training programs for women can increase an access to job and to entrepreneurial opportunities. Our extensive uses of IT services shows that IT can provide women to professional status and managerial or executive positions in labor markets. Education is one of the key instrument to achieve gender equality. As our project initiated with professional partnership, study and training in the center will always be welcomed.
In 2005, Gyeonggi Women's e-learning Center was started in our projects, to provide intensive programs that blend online classes with offline classes.
Based on its accumulated knowledge and experiences, Gyeonggi Women's Development Center started Cyber Programs in November 2005 for any Korean women to take various classes for their career and businesses anytime anywhere.
Personalized instructors will manage your academic progress. And professional career consultants will advise your careers and businesses.
In 2006, we opened intensive programs that blend online classes via the Internet with offline classes at designated locations.

We test-operated nine courses and educated about 2,000 trainees in 2005. From 2005 to 2007, we trained 38,287 students and out of them 14,759 graduated from training. In addition, we introduced customized classes for female business leaders, IT personnel, and full-time homemakers to improve communication skills and expand social participation. About half of the programs are related to business skills.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Gyeonggi Women's Development Center
Institution Type:   Government Agency  
Contact Person:   JUNGEUN HUH
Title:   EDUCATION & MANAGEMENT TEAM  
Telephone/ Fax:   823180088137
Institution's / Project's Website:   823180088110
E-mail:   huhje@kg21.net  
Address:   Yong gu street 280, Giheung-gu, Yongiin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Postal Code:   446-912
City:   Yongin-si
State/Province:   Gyeonggi-do
Country:  

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