Taiwan Today

From the moment a child is born, or these days even before birth, assumptions are made about that person based on gender. There are assumptions about what is possible, what is desirable and even what is legally acceptable--not because of character, intellect, or ability, but because of being male or female. The world's women are especially disadvantaged by these assumptions, which underpin gender-based inequality and discrimination. A United Nations report sums up, "Women comprise half the world's population, do two thirds of the world's work, earn one tenth of the world's income and own one hundredth of the world's property." Taiwan is a fairly recent entry to the modern movement for gender equality, with activist groups forming in the 1970s and gaining widespread public support from the 1980s. Taiwan's situation is unique in a number of ways, and not only because of its relative isolation from the international community. Feminists here began the push for more equality by drawing on Western feminist thought, then integrating it into a traditional Chinese/Taiwanese culture itself undergoing rapid economic development and change. These difficulties notwithstanding, Taiwan has made strong gains for equality in a short time. Since the 1990s, the country has seen a groundswell of support for legislation targeting violence against women, unfair treatment in the labor market and unjust family law. Some of the most frequently cited legal changes include the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act and the amendment to civil law granting equal property rights to a wife and husband. Attitudes about "appropriate" roles for women in society are beginning to broaden from the traditional ideal as a wife and mother only. In fact, more women are choosing to delay marriage, seek divorce, or even remain single rather than endure a vastly unequal marriage partnership. However, while withdrawing from family life might be an option for some individuals, it is not a solution for Taiwan's society. So, what would gender equality look like? Equality is a quest for men and women to enjoy the same rights and opportunities, and share the same responsibilities, regardless of gender. The corollary is that the needs of both men and women must be taken into account. To that end, the UN promotes gender mainstreaming as a strategy to achieve gender equality worldwide, and Taiwan is among those nations heeding the call. Gender mainstreaming is a process for making sure the views of both men and women are considered as policies are made, carried out and assessed. In practice, an example of mainstreaming is the guideline that there should be both men and women on all decision-making committees under the Executive Yuan, and that neither gender should exceed two thirds of the membership of any such committee. The approach is complemented with additional interventions via specific laws. This process is entirely consistent with Taiwan's transformation into the world's first Chinese democracy. Modern democracy is an exercise in inclusion, and gender is a key factor in how a policy affects an individual. By opening up to more diversity, policy outcomes are legitimized as better representative of all Taiwan's citizens. Moreover, just as gender is not a "single issue," but affects every facet of public and private life from education and employment to health, safety and legal rights, so it is clear that gender-based inequality must be addressed systematically. Mainstreaming gender concerns is that system for redress. It is also clear that gender-based inequality is not really about "women's rights," but human rights. Taiwan is moving in the right direction by mainstreaming gender as part of the nation's process of democratization and liberalization. Even though there is further to go on the road to gender equality, by acting to uphold the human rights and interests of all its citizens, Taiwan has once again shown that a small country can stand tall in the international community.