The designation of Oct. 11 as Taiwan Girls’ Day in the ROC represents another step forward for the country in its goal of promoting the rights of women across the economic, educational, political and social spectrums. This important undertaking involves building a broader social welfare network, creating an environment conducive to fostering greater gender equality and offering comprehensive protection for the rights of women as they go about their everyday lives.
Developed in accordance with the International Day of the Girl Child adopted by the U.N. two years ago, Taiwan Girls’ Day underscores the government’s commitment to forging a fairer society in which all members can fully access opportunities en route to reaching their potential. It also puts the nation among the world leaders in addressing the unique challenges confronting girls.
For Taiwan, promoting the empowerment of girls and fulfillment of their human rights is more than just a moral obligation. It is a necessary adjustment reflecting the reality of shifting demographics. ROC Ministry of the Interior statistics show that by year-end, women will account for over half of Taiwan’s population. This number takes on added gravitas when viewed in terms of its impact on the country’s labor market and national competitiveness.
Women are playing an increasingly important role in sustaining these two key areas. The country’s female labor participation rate stood at 50.19 percent last year, higher than Japan and South Korea at 48.2 percent and 49 percent, respectively. In particular, an increasing number of vacancies are being filled by women in traditionally male-dominated professions such as the military and police.
The percentage of female military recruits increased to 11.81 percent in 2013 from 9.58 percent five years ago, while the number of females passing the national police examination jumped 45.8 percent to 4,097 between 2008 and 2012. Women also account for 33 percent of the current makeup of the ROC Legislature, higher than parliamentary bodies in Japan, South Korea and the U.S.
These developments show that the workplace gender gap in Taiwan is shrinking. Equally important, though, they demonstrate that public and private sector efforts are helping the nation make great strides in equality promotion and women’s rights protection.
Some of the public sector efforts include establishing the Ministry of Health and Welfare and its Social and Family Affairs Administration in July; launching the Action Plan for Enhancement of Girls’ Rights in March; setting up the Department of Gender Equality in January 2012; passing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in May 2011; approving the Gender Equality Policy Outline in December 2011; and initiating wide-ranging programs to address the newborn gender ratio imbalance starting 2010.
Such initiatives have begun paying dividends for Taiwan’s females, as confirmed by a Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics assessment based on a U.N. gender development study conducted last year. The comparison ranks the ROC second among 149 countries, trailing only the Netherlands in the gender equality index. But much remains to be done. Taiwan society must be instilled with greater awareness of the importance of women’s rights and gender equality, a worthy outcome Taiwan Girls’ Day is playing its part in helping achieve.