Casa de Patricia is a non-governmental group that supports disabled children and provides welfare for the elderly, while ABC PECEM is currently helping 150 local, underprivileged children. Brazil CSP delivered KRW 3.6 million to the organizations for facility renovation and furnishings.    

Brazil CSP is a steel mill with an annual capacity of 3 million tons. It sits in the Pecem industrial complex in the state of Ceara, located in the northeastern region of Brazil. The company is a joint venture between POSCO and Dongkuk Steel and Brazilian mining company Vale.

More than 290 people attended the presentation ceremony, including Ohjoon Kwon, chairman of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation; Chang-hee Kang, former chairman of the National Assembly; Hong-goo Lee and Deok-soo Han, former prime ministers of Korea; Gong-il Sa, chairman of the Institute for Global Economics; Nak-in Sung, president of Seoul National University; and prize winners from previous years.

Ohjoon Kwon, POSCO CEO and chairman of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation, said, “For the past 10 years, the POSCO TJ Park Prize has been a way to recognize those who tackle the never-ending challenges of today’s world. In the next 10 years, we aim to make the POSCO TJ Park Prize an even more noteworthy honor.”

This year, the POSCO TJ Park Prize was awarded to the following honorees:

• Excellence in Science: Prof. Jong-heun Lee, Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Korea University
• Excellence in Education: Attached Middle School at Kyungpook National University
• Excellence in Community Development & Philanthropy: Jimmy Pham of Vietnam, CEO of KOTO
• Excellence in Technology: Myeong-hwan Kim, head of the Battery Research Institute at LG Chem.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon (far right) stands with recipients of the POSCO TJ Park Prize. The award recognized their noteworthy achievements in science, education, community development, and technology.

The Excellence in Technology award was added this year to highlight how technology has contributed to the renewal of the Korean economy. Eligible candidates for this category include persons or organizations that contributed to national and global market development.

Prof. Jong-heun Lee of Korea University, winner of the TJ Park Science prize, was honored for his work on the oxide nano hierarchical structure in which nano building blocks are regularly self-assembled, and the p-type oxide semiconductor, which has a high level of catalytic activity that allows for gases to be detected quickly and selectively. His achievements are expected to be widely utilized in various areas such as safety, environment, medical science, and IoT.

Kyungpook National University Attached Middle School, winner of the Excellence in Education prize, was awarded for its model of creative public education. Unlike a typical learning environment, the middle school introduced project-based learning in 2012, which allowed students to switch roles with teachers and also collaborate with one another on a deeper level.

Jimmy Pham, winner of the Excellence in Community Development and Philanthropy prize, established KOTO (Know One, Teach One), the first social enterprise in Vietnam. For 17 years, the organization has been giving at-risk youth a chance to stand on their own by teaching various life-skill classes.

Myung-hwan Kim, head of the Battery Research Institute at LG Chem, received the foundation’s very first Excellence in Technology prize. Kim began to oversee battery R&D in 1996 when the secondary battery business was first starting to become active. Through much trial and error and over 20 years of experience in the field, Kim successfully developed the first lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles. He is considered to have greatly contributed to making Korea a leader in the secondary battery industry.

Chang-hee Kang, former chairman of the National Assembly, delivered a congratulatory address, saying, “I would like to thank POSCO for contributing not only to the development of science and technology, but also for actively recognizing scholars and citizens who made a great impact in their respective fields.”

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POSCO values the contributions from its female workers and their role in its success. In the past, The Steel Wire has looked at women in the steel industry as well as a few of the women who have had a lasting impact at POSCO. Please check out the in-depth interviews with Yukyung Lee, Group Leader of Iron Ore Group of the Raw Materials Department; Mihwa Park, Head of the Information Planning Department; Young Choi, Vice President of PR at POSCO Daewoo; and Lee Yoon Hee, Vice President of POSRI.

Today, in honor of International Women’s Day, we want to take a moment to celebrate three women who broke barriers in their own male-dominated fields. Their hard work, perseverance, and dedication allowed the world to recognize and acknowledge the capabilities of women.

Alice Peurala, Woman of Steel Who Fought for Gender Parity in Steel Industry

Women have long been a minority in the metals and mining industries (Catalyst noted in 2015 it was at just 13.3% in the U.S.). However, thanks to the efforts of women like  Alice Peurala, many more rights and protections are afforded to them today.

Alice Peurala was the first and only female to head a steel unit (Source: Daily Kos)

Alice Peurala, the first woman to head a steel unit, played a vital role in the steel industry during WWII. Peurala was one of the first female steelworkers who entered Chicago’s South Works mill in 1953 when there were only a few women left in the field. Most of the women who had steel jobs as a result of WWII had been let go when the men returned home. Those who remained, including Alice Peurala, faced gender discrimination in hiring and promotion. Having been an activist in the civil rights movement, she was determined to transform the steel industry into a more comfortable workplace for female employees.

“I did not win as a woman. I campaigned as a candidate who would do something about conditions in the plant that affect 7500 people – men and women.” – Alice Peurala

When Peurala was denied a promotion from her job in the Metallurgical Division to a job in a product testing lab in 1967 because people thought she was ineligible for a job that required overtime and heavy lifting, she sued the mill at the recommendation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Due to her unwavering efforts, a compromise settlement was reached and in 1969, Peurala finally got her promotion. Her successful lawsuits against gender discrimination and the dictatorial control of the steel company owners were indeed a victory for all women in manufacturing. Alice eventually won the presidency of the Local 65 in 1979 and left an impressive legacy as a fighter for women’s rights.

Raye Montague, The First Person to Design Computerized Ships for Navy 

Raye Montague, the first female Program Manager of Ships in the U.S. Navy, not only shattered the glass ceiling as a black woman in the then male-dominated Navy but also the first person who single-handedly changed the way the U.S. Navy designed and used ships.

Growing up, she was often ridiculed for wanting to become a female engineer and was even denied entry into the University of Arkansas because the school did not allow minority enrollment at that time; however, she did not let gender or race barriers discourage her.

Raye Montague revolutionized the design process for all naval ships and submarines in under 19 hours in 1970. (Image courtesy of thv11.com)

She taught herself how computers worked and rose in the ranks for 14 years to become a computer systems analyst at the Naval Ship Engineering Center.  In 1970, she showed the world that women were just as capable as men in the male-dominated Navy by revolutionizing the design process for all naval ships and submarines – a task she famously completed under 19 hours even though she was given a month by her boss.

Montague retired in 1990 and entered the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 2013. After the award-winning film Hidden Figures was released, which tells the true story of three African-American women who helped the U.S. space program at NASA, Montague appeared on Good Morning America and sparked interest in her story as another true “hidden figure” during that same era, whose dedication and unwavering commitment became an inspiration to all women.

Billie Jean King, Breaking Records and Gender Barriers

Long a champion for social justice and gender equality, Billie Jean King is a 39 time Grand Slam winner and an American former world #1 professional tennis player. She transformed the world for not only female sports players but also for the LGBT community.

In 1973, King famously threatened to boycott the U.S. Open unless the winner of the ladies singles was awarded the same prize money as the men’s champion. Thanks to her efforts, the U.S. Open became the first major tournament to offer equal prize money to women and men.

That same year King famously defeated men’s former world No.1 Bobby Riggs in a match later dubbed “Battle of the Sexes” in the Houston Astrodome proving to the world that women could compete with men in any arena. In the most viewed U.S. tennis match of all time with more than 50 million Americans tuned in to watch, King beat Riggs, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3 for the USD 100,000 winner-take-all prize. More importantly, the match turned King into arguably the first superstar female athlete in the U.S. Later this year Emma Stone and Steve Carell will adapt this story for the big screen, helping to reignite the excitement of King’s win in 1973.

King also became the first prominent female athlete to come out as gay in 1981 and continued to advocate for gender equality and the LGBT community even after leaving tennis in 1983. In 1990 was named one of the “100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century” by Life Magazine and in 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award for her massive contribution to improving gender equality on the tennis court.

King’s demands for equal treatment and equal pay helped pave the way for future stars such as Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, and Serena Williams, the latter who broke barriers of her own at the 2017 Australian Open by winning her 23rd Grand Slam singles title, the most of any player in the Open Era.

“It’s not about the money, it’s about the message we send. We are sending the equality message out that this is the right thing to do. Yes, the men are better than us in some ways. Yes, we’re better in some ways. It doesn’t matter. Don’t you want to share in this world? I do.” – Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King photographed by ©Lynn Gilbert 1978, New York. (Source: Lynn Gilbert)

On International Women’s Day, POSCO honors these three remarkable women who made major contributions in their fields at a time when female participation was incredibly difficult. The bravery and dedication of these women, along with so much more around us who have broken through barriers to ensure gender equality are, and will continue to be,  a source of inspiration for all.

Cover Image Courtesy of Alfred T. Palmer, U.S. Office of War Information.

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