The '2024 Seoul Women's Conference' was held on September 7 at Seoul City Hall. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was one of the major speakers at the event.
At the event, Mayor Oh stated, "Since last year, the city of Seoul has introduced an AI system to tackle digital sex crimes like deepfakes. This system allows reported content to be deleted immediately, and for this, the Seoul Metropolitan Government of Korea won the UN Public Service Award in the gender-responsive public services category. We're happy to be recognized for our efforts to promote women's rights."
Mayor Oh also announced that Seoul's female employment rate has hit a record high of 54.4%, the highest mark since 2013. He also shared that the city has seen a 51% decrease in the number of women experiencing career gaps compared to eight years ago. Crediting the city's female leaders, Mayor Oh expressed optimism about the continued upward trend of women's status in Seoul.
At the opening, Lee Jung-eun, chair of the Seoul Women's Association, said, "The Seoul Women's Conference is a time to reflect on women's rights and roles. We support the city's various projects that focus on helping the vulnerable."
This year, six individuals and groups received the Seoul Gender Equality Award, with Kim Gi-tak, head of a fatherhood research institute, winning the grand prize. As a father of three, he has created content on fatherhood, which gained 20 million views on social media. His efforts have promoted paternity leave and fatherhood culture, contributing to gender equality.
At the event, several leaders pressed a button together to celebrate, marking Gender Equality Week, which coincides with September 1, the day of the Women's Rights Declaration. A landmark moment in Korea's women's rights movement, the declaration was published in the Hwangseong Newspaper as a Special Column on September 1, 1898. This declaration advocated for women to have the same rights as men, including the right to vote, the right to work, and the right to education. Women's groups have been leading the charge to make this date a national holiday.
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