The gender equality wage disclosure system is presented as a critical policy alternative to address the structural discrimination against women that results in gender wage disparities. Ahead of the 118th International Women's Day on March 8, women's and labor organizations have rallied to push for the introduction of this wage disclosure system. This proposed system would require private enterprises to disclose detailed information regarding gender and employment-type wage disparities in hiring, employment, promotion, and retirement, addressing the multifaceted causes behind the gender wage gap, including occupational segregation, career interruptions due to childbirth, and the concentration of women in low-wage, precarious jobs.

Currently, there are electronic disclosure systems for listed companies and gender labor disclosure systems for public institutions, but these only present average wage gaps and tenure based on gender, complicating efforts to accurately identify the underlying structure of gender wage disparities. The push for a gender equality wage disclosure system is not a recent development; since the early 2000s, civil society has advocated for its introduction to resolve gender pay gaps and uphold the principle of equal pay for equal work. The discussion gained momentum with the announcement of a five-year national agenda by the Moon Jae-in administration to implement the system by 2018, but it ultimately failed to materialize.

In 2019, the initiative was renamed to the 'Wage Distribution Disclosure System,' but efforts faced significant backlash from the business community, which argued that revealing wage status as a trade secret would infringe on corporate autonomy and exacerbate labor-management conflicts. Despite the lack of progress during the Moon administration, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration exhibited little interest in mitigating gender wage gaps, with the president previously stating that there was no structural gender discrimination. However, hope has risen again under the Lee Jae-myung administration, as the gender equality wage disclosure system is now included in national policy objectives, with the Ministry of Gender Equality aiming to propose relevant legislation in the first half of this year to implement the system next year.