The past three years have been dynamic years for gender equality not only in. From the me too movement to corset free movement, Korea has been part of this feminist movement. Me too movement is movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault first started in October 2017. And a corset free movement is movement started by Korean feminist free themselves from the ‘corset’ of societal pressure. So I started to research on the global dialog on gender parity to provide a fact base for support efforts. According to the Mckinsey report, women continue to make up less than 40 percent of the global labour force, and only 25 percent of management positions globally – while at the same time being responsible for 75 percent of unpaid care work. As many countries have experienced over the last several decades, the economic opportunity in getting more women involved in the workforce is staggering –McKinsey Global Institute estimates that it could create up to $12 trillion in additional GDP globally. At the micro level, the report found a strong positive correlation between the representation of women in leadership roles and the financial performance of businesses. I was startled as I found these facts. I thought the gender equality issue was getting better every year. Clearly, the issue hasn’t been solved yet and barely anything has changed since decade ago. So as an engineering student in POSTECH, I have quite a few things to say to the women in my engineering classes:
While it is my duty to treat you as equal peer in every interaction, I have to admit and say you and I are in fact unequal. Sure, we are both students in POSTECH, and you might decide to choose the same major as I, and even possibly get the same GPA as me, but that doesn’t make us equal. I did not, for example, grow up in a world that discouraged me from focusing on hard science. Nor did I live in a society that toddle me not to get dirty, or said I was bossy for exhibiting leadership skills. I am not saying every women is experiencing these kinds of events. I am saying that there are still a lot of woman suffering from the gender equality issue. In grade school I never had to fear being rejected by my peers because of my interests in science. I was instead the object of admiration for being smart. However, out in the world, not only in Korea, there are still women who are bombarded by images and slogans telling them that their true worth was in how they look, and that they should abstain from certain activities because they might be thought too masculine. I was not overlooked by teachers who assumed that the reason I did not understand a tough math or science concept was, after all, because of my gender. 
Today, many company enforce a policy called ‘diversity hire’ where women face added scrutiny or remarks when they apply for a job. So when woman get the job or success, the assumption of others will be that she didn’t earned it. And there will always be some factors that undermine your success because of your duty. So, you and I cannot be equal. You have already conquered far more to be in this field than I will ever face. You all have my deepest respect and please do not let anyone or anything get in your way. Together, I believe men and women can, in fact, make the world a better place.