Making a Difference by Kyle Sohn

‘In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders’ - Sheryl Sandberg.

Gender inequality has always been present in society, and nobody knows how far this future is - maybe

even so far it will never happen. The bond of trust between men and women to give one another equal

opportunity defines gender equality. Unfortunately, this bond has been broken, and women are doubted

all over the world. But there is still hope.

In South Korea, the lack of women leadership opportunity is apparent, as The Diplomat states that

only 2 percent of corporate board of directors are female, and among OECD countries, South Korea has

the largest pay gap at 35 percent. Society often depicts women as being incompetent leaders because they

supposedly do not have the same charisma and confidence that men do. However, Barack Obama stated

with absolute confidence that ‘for two years if every nation on earth was run by women, you would see a

significant improvement across the board on just about everything... living standards and outcomes’. The

Harvard Business Review has also suggested that women are more capable than men in 13 out of the 16

leadership competencies. It is evident that women are as capable as men to be successful leaders. Having

said this, we continue to discriminate against women leadership. People have a prejudice of men being

superior leaders to women even though professional studies refute this argument. Thus, sadly, the reality

remains that people naturally have higher standards for women than their male counterparts for leadership

roles.

Progressively working towards building a sense of trust between men and women will be the

solution to the lack of leadership opportunity for them. This year, I have been able to look at female

leadership through an entirely new lens after developing a tight-knit relationship with a senior, Angelica

Slater, who is a co president of our school’s Sports Council and captain of three varsity sports, a true icon

of SFS. Her positive impacts on the SFS sports program is exemplary to the rest of the SFS community.

Most importantly, though, watching her growth and development as a strong leader has motivated me to

take action with my own leadership abilities.

It’s ironic that through the gender inequality present in our world today, females like her are

motivating people all around the world. Women simply deserve better than the lack of opportunity and

trust in our society. With a problem like gender inequality, anyone is capable of simply suggesting

solutions. It’s the action that people take that determines the future of this problem. Thus, following

Angie’s legendary path as a leader in the SFS community, I seek to tackle some of the inequalities present

at our school. After months of planning, I have created a new project: SFSBridge. It aims to unite the

community and encourage a larger sense of family in SFS by mending the various inequalities at our

school. By shining more light onto the actresses in our theatre program and female athletes through

creative videos that are released through various media platforms, I strive to make a difference. In order to

make a lasting impact on the school, the entire student body must be involved. In SFS, gender equality is

something that all students need to push for, and I seek to be the reliable motor to these efforts.

Although my contributions, at the moment, may be insignificant to South Korea as a whole, it is

little actions like these that accumulate to a significant impact on a larger spectrum. As SFSBridge is a

project that is heavily dependent on raising awareness through the media, I hope to gradually inspire

others in South Korea to take action in their own communities. Change is a process, not an event. Having

said that, the process of solving gender inequality in SFS through SFSBridge can be seen as parallel to the

gender inequality present in the economy of South Korea. Just like I am pushing to get the student body

involved in my movement, the change in Korea must be progressive as well, as the prominence and

trusting of female leaders in Korea won’t happen overnight. It requires the efforts of the entire country.

Through the accumulation of efforts in communities in Korea, we can look towards a brighter future for

women in South Korea. Hopefully, one day South Korea’s gender inequality can be solved, and we can

become representative of the future of women leadership on a global level.