Expanding women's social participation, care, and safety... Fruits of persistent gender equality practices

The Special Self-Governing City of Sejong (Mayor Cho Sang-ho) has passed the 2026 Women-Friendly City designation screening hosted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, achieving its designation as a women-friendly city for the third consecutive time.

The Women-Friendly City is a certification system awarded by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for a 5-year term to local governments that guarantee the equal policy participation of women and men, while striving to strengthen women's capabilities and promote care and safety.

The city has continuously pursued women-friendly policies across various fields, including strengthening the foundation for gender-equality policy implementation, expanding women's economic and social participation, vitalizing citizen participation, and creating care and safety environments.

Specific highlights include:

-Increasing the proportion of female public officials at Grade 5 or higher
-Implementing a gender-sensitive preliminary review system
-Operating the Women's Job Consultative Body, Women-Friendly Enterprise Certification --System, and Working Mothers Support Center
-Vitalizing the Women-Friendly City Citizen Participation Group
-Operating the Sejong Women's Plaza

Following its initial designation in 2016 and re-designation in 2021, the city has succeeded in its third consecutive designation this year, receiving recognition for the outcomes of the women-friendly policies it has steadily pursued over the past decade.

Taking this designation as an opportunity, the city plans to further develop past achievements and expand life-close women-friendly policies.

"The third consecutive designation as a women-friendly city is a meaningful achievement created together by citizens and the local community," said Mayor Cho Sang-ho. "We will actively reflect the voices of citizens in our policies to build Sejong as a women-friendly city where everyone can live equally and safely."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]