88.5% of Women Entrepreneurs Face Care Burden, Finds Survey

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Tuesday, 21 July 2026

Nine out of ten women entrepreneurs in South Korea say balancing business responsibilities with caregiving remains a significant challenge, highlighting the urgent need for tailored policy support and stronger social safety nets. According to a new report released by Women's Economic Research Institute affiliated with Korea Women Entrepreneurs Support Center, 88.5% of the women entrepreneurs say they are burdened when they have to manage their work during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as childcare and family care.

The report stated, "Status of Work-Life Balance among Women Entrepreneurs and Policy Implications," is based on the findings. The survey was completed by 645 women-owned corporations that have an official women-owned business certification, between the 8th and 17th of last month.

The report found that the burden of caregiving is especially high for smaller companies. 91.7% of respondents to the question "one person corporations" reported work life balance issues. As for businesses with less than 300 million won in annual revenue, the same percentage (91.4%) reported that they were impacted by caregiving-related disruptions, suggesting that smaller businesses face greater challenges in dealing with caregiving-related disruptions due to limited resources.

The survey revealed that 65.3% of respondents considered that society's expectation of women's primary role in family care is the primary obstacle for women entrepreneurs in balancing work and family life. Another 54.6% said that other childcare duties are bearing an increasing burden on business continuity and operational stability.

Key Highlights:

• Nearly nine in ten women entrepreneurs struggle balancing business and caregiving
• Smaller businesses experience significantly greater operational disruptions from caregiving responsibilities
• Respondents overwhelmingly seek tailored policies, staffing support, and caregiving subsidies.

The most prevalent concern during the "pregnancy and childbirth" period was "business disruptions due to the absence of the head," with 24.3% of respondents noting this. To solve this, the most wanted policy support was selected as "short-term assistant staffing to respond to management gaps" with 23.6% of the votes.

The top challenge to the operation was cited as temporary care, when a child fell sick or (not related to that) when daycare and school closed for unexpected reasons, by 36.5% of respondents for childcare. The most popular answer was subsidizing childcare/caregiving services, with 19.3% of respondents saying that they should be subsidized.

In addition to childcare, the most important responsibility of care that 38.0% reported was to accompany family members for hospital consultations, medical tests, hospitalization, and rehabilitation. Similarly, 26.0% responded that they would most benefit from helpers to attend family consultations to a hospital and medical appointments.

The survey also revealed that policy interventions are needed with overwhelming support as 97.1% of respondents said they need policies that support women entrepreneurs specifically in their work-life balance.

To alleviate caregiver burden and limit business disruptions, it is necessary to set up a sustainable long-term support system, provide more specialized support depending on company size and business category, and diversify support measures based on specific caregiver needs, according to the Women's Economic Research Institute. The results highlight the importance of actionable solutions to help women entrepreneurs balance their entrepreneurial work with childcare duties.