Have you ever heard of the Women’s Career Development Center in our university?

This center is barely known, and according to the Kyonggi University homepage, it is affiliated with the job center. However, though the center was run on campus as a part of the Youth Employment Support Program, it is no longer there. In fact, the jobs this center covered with programs and lectures are now handled by the job center, as the center has been reduced in size. The Pharos will explain why this center vanished and tell you exactly what remains today.

The Women’s Career Development Center in our university was established under the auspices of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in 2003. This center was to support young women’s long-term economic activity, based on the Basic Law on Gender Equality. In Kyonggi University, the center operated in dependently from 2006, but then merged with the Youth Employment Support Program in 2017. Before the work of the Women’s center was incorporated into the job center, it was independently managed. During the period of the last government, this center was important because it was one of the measurement criteria used in the university assessment. Now, the assessment methodology has been changed and the center’s existence is no longer important. As a natural consequence, the center was shut down and only some programs and lectures have been provided by the job center. The remaining programs and lectures are the following: Personal Branding / Color Seeking, Women’s Relationships and Self-Management, Women’s Future Design, and Women’s Career Development.

To better understand this matter, the Pharos dug deeply into why the center vanished. We discovered that there are a few reasons, starting with the financial one. The center was operated with financial aid from the government. Unfortunately, this changed and each university in which a center was installed had to pay to continue running and maintaining the center. The amount was pretty large so it was reasonable to incorporate the budget into that of another promising job program. The next reason concerns effectiveness. The core purpose of this center was to increase the employment rate of women in university, but according to the public announcement web site ‘University Notification,’ after the center was established, there was no such change in the women’s employment rate in each university. Rather, many universities found that the rate actually decreased. Because of this, it was decided there was no need to run the center, especially given the high cost of operating it. Generally speaking, a center which cannot even meet its original purpose must be terminated. Then the university can seek other more fruitful businesses.

The last reason relates to the direction of the center compared to its original purpose. As we mentioned, this center’s purpose was to raise the competency of women in order for them to have a better opportunity for getting a job. However, looking into the programs and lectures provided by the center, they were not helpful for employment. They focused more on gender specific topics like sexual discrimination and birth & nurturing. Of course, they are all essential topics, but they did not fit the center’s purpose. Besides, considering the need for equality between men and women, universities are not able to retain even slightly biased programs or lectures. As a result, for universities it is far better to invest in other more constructive businesses and programs. Then, why were the existing female students-related regular and extracurricular courses opened? The Pharos met a person in charge of the Human Resources Development Team and interviewed him to find answers to the above questions. 

What is the reason that there are regular and extracurricular courses only for female students?

Among the college assessment criteria, there are items related to whether there are any courses and programs for female students. Therefore, like other schools, Kyonggi University has opened and operated these courses and programs to help with the results of the college assessment.

What are the courses you've been offering?

The CS Leaders Manager Program and the Personal Branding / Color Search Program are two examples. The CS Leaders Public Certification Test is a qualification test that evaluates CS planning, customer response, and practical knowledge ability to maximize customer impact. Most of the students preparing for the exam are girls, so we held classes to educate them and even to support their fees. In addition, we held a personal color course last year. Through the E-DISC test, students had the opportunity to find a suitable career path and job, and even look for their personal color. Consequently, most of the students were very satisfied with this program. It is important to set up one’s own brand through self-interest in order to enhance your brand value in the job market. We have helped female students get a job through these various lectures.

The Human Resources Development Team is continuing the programs and courses that the center has been in charge of so far. However, as the center is increasingly being scaled down and could even be abolished as the current administration implements its agenda, related programs may disappear from Kyonggi University in the near future. Why don’t you experience these programs, given the high level of student satisfaction in the programs being offered, before they disappear? It could be direct help to getting a job, and it might be a good opportunity to explore interesting areas.

Every time you apply for classes, you can see courses related to female students, and some say this is discriminatory. However, they do not know why these programs exist, so they deny the need for courses and extracurricular programs for female students. The Pharos hopes that this article will give those critical of this curriculum an opportunity to understand why such programs were opened. Moreover, female students who didn’t know such programs are operating are recommended to participate.

Management Editor•CHOI SOYEON•clara3003@naver.com

71st Reporter•PARK SINUI•dean0305@naver.com