Seoul, Mar 7 (IANS): Female workers account for nearly a quarter of all employees with major South Korean companies, with their pay amounting to nearly 70 per cent of that for male counterparts, data revealed on Monday.

The country's 150 key companies hired about 199,700 women workers as of end-2020, or 24 per cent of their combined workforce at 831,100, according to corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute.

The data is based on their 2020 business reports, and the companies cover top 10 companies in 15 industries in Asia's fourth-largest economy, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The distribution industry had the highest ratio of female workers at roughly 54 per cent, followed by financial firms with some 50 per cent and the food industry with about 44 per cent.

Steelmakers had the lowest rate of 4.7 per cent, trailed by automakers with 5.5 per cent and the machinery sector with 6.1 per cent.

The institute also said the average pay of female workers at those leading companies amounted to 68 per cent of the median wage for male employees.

Companies in the textile industry registered the lowest gender wage gap with the ratio reaching 86.6 per cent, with construction companies having the highest difference with the percentage coming to 57.4 per cent, according to the Korea CXO Institute.