While the number of women professionals increased significantly in the past seven years, their average wage compared to men remained low, a report by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade showed.

The KIET surveyed the number and structure of the female professional workforce aged 20-59 between 2008 and 2015.

Out of all female workers, 26.6 percent were those with professional jobs in 2015, up from 22.0 percent in 2008.

Comparatively, out of all male workers, 22.8 percent were in professional posts in 2015 compared to 20.2 percent in 2008.

While the number of women professionals nearly doubled compared to men, their average wage remained at 60.3 percent of those earned by male professionals.

The report said that the persisting wage gap among the professionals by gender derives from a rise in the number of women professionals in lower-paid jobs such as in the fields of health and social welfare.