We often mention successful American women who successfully cross the gender gap into the man’s world of business. What about women in other countries? Korea leads a traditional “man’s world,” and Lee Bok-hui has found a way across that gap and raise attention for her invention.
Lee Bok-hui used to wonder what happened to all the leftover stones she saw lying around construction sites. Now she knows exactly where a percentage of those leftovers go — into an eco-friendly inflammable sheeting-material used to reinforce electrical outlets, which she invented specifically to reuse that construction site waste.
Lee is among the small number of Korean women who are doing something not usual in the male-centric Korean business world — taking their careers into their own hands through invention. And surprisingly, many of these new inventors are housewives.
South Korea is one of the top 20 richest economies worldwide. But according to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index 2010 report, Korea’s gender equality only ranks 104 out of 134 countries surveyed, near the bottom with developing African countries and Middle East states with strict rules governing women’s rights.
Photo by Elliott Brown