「남녀고용평등과 일‧가정 양립지원에 관한 법률」의 문제점 및 입법론적 제언

It has been 30 years since the enactment and enforcement of the ⌜Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation⌟(hereinafter referred to as the ⌜Equal Employment Act⌟, the first law in Korea that bans discrimination in employment and stipulates work-family balance support. Under the Act, systems for work-family balance of male and female workers, such as parental leave, were introduced. As such, the law has had a significant impact on establishing legal and institutional infrastructure for work-family balance for male and female workers. However, it is our reality that this maturity in system has not led to the improvement of women's economic status. The female economic participation rate remains at about 59.4% (2018), and about 40% of all female workers are irregular workers with unstable employment and poor working conditions. And the M-shaped structure of participation in economic activities, which shows career breaks for women in childbirth and childcare, is yet to be improved. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this study is to reflect on the achievements and challenges of the 30 years of the implementation of the Equal Employment Act, examine the current status of maternity protection and work-family balance support system among the provisions of the Act, and identify problems and suggest ways to improve them. It is hoped that this research will be used as one of useful sources for drawing up improvement plans of the Equal Employment Act in the future.