The minister of Gender Equality said Tuesday the proportion of women in government umbrella committees last year rose 6 percentage points from a year earlier to 23.6 percent.

Han Myung-sook, however, that last year's figure still falls short of a 25 percent goal set by the ministry, but women's participation in government committees is increasing steadily.

According to the ministry's report, only 32 of 59 government offices surveyed have granted over 25 percent of committee positions to female members.