President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of September 2 chaired a press conference during which he formally unveiled the seven principal focal points of the Policy Agenda for Gender Equality. The president stressed that the government is not only formulating gender equality policies, but also is striving to ensure that all government policies are gender-neutral.
The president was accompanied by Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), and other government leaders at the press conference, which was held at the Presidential Office. The officials jointly proclaimed their determination to promote gender equality in an effort to forge a fair and equitable society.
With regard to the government's formulation of gender policies, the president stressed that the task of addressing women's issues does not fall solely to any one cabinet agency. Rather, all cabinet agencies, he said, should achieve gender equality. Besides establishing gender equality units, agencies should fully implement gender equality principles in order to help Taiwan move closer to achieving gender-neutral policy.
As he recalled the development of the nation's gender equality policies, the president stated that the government gradually abolished the abusive "foster daughter system" [i.e. the adoption of girls as child brides, maids, or chattel slaves] and promoted a system of monogamy. In addition, Article 10, paragraph 6 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the ROC provides as follows: "The State shall protect the dignity of women, safeguard their personal safety, eliminate sexual discrimination, and further substantive gender equality." The president also noted that the Legislative Yuan this year passed the enforcement act for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which applies to all people of the ROC and demonstrates the ROC's determination to fulfill its international obligations in this respect. Furthermore, he said, after government restructuring is implemented, the Executive Yuan will establish a dedicated organization to deal with gender equality and related issues. The premier is in charge of this task and the organization of this body, which will have a higher position than any other committee under the Executive Yuan, he added. President Ma said it is hoped that this unit will enhance Taiwan's gender equality policy and promote efficiency.
In discussing recent progress toward gender equality in Taiwan, the president remarked that the ROC ranks 20th and 22nd globally in the Gender-related Development Index and Gender Empowerment Measure, respectively. While there is still room for improvement, the president pointed out that the rankings of the ROC compare favorably to our scores in the past and against other Asian nations. He added that the women's labor participation rate in Taiwan has crossed the 50% threshold. Even though men and women still do not receive equal pay for equal work, women now receive 81% of what men receive for the same responsibilities in the same industry, which is an improvement from 60-70% in the past, and shows that the government is making headway in its efforts. However, he also pointed out that the traditional preference among parents to have male children rather than female continues to cause a considerable gender imbalance at birth. In the future, the government will continue to improve education in this respect to address this problem, he said.
President Ma then addressed the seven major focal points of the Policy Agenda for Gender Equality, namely: public policy, employment and welfare, population and families, culture and education, personal safety, health care, and environment & technology.
In terms of public policy, President Ma said that in recent years decision-making by committees or panels of experts has become increasingly commonplace. This highlights the importance of the membership of committees. The Policy Agenda consequently stipulates that no gender should account for less than one-third of the members on any committee. This will boost participation for women and enhance opportunities in the workplace, the president said. As for employment and welfare, the president remarked that the government will continue to establish a friendly workplace environment and a society that has a comprehensive social safety net. He specifically cited the recent example of granting holiday to parents who need to take care of their children when school is called off due to typhoons, but adults still have to work. He said he hopes that this will provide a better environment for young families to raise their children.
In discussing population and families, President Ma stated that since Taiwan's fertility rate has fallen to the lowest in the world, the government has instituted a number of measures, such as subsidies to care for children, and promoting integration of kindergartens and nursery schools and providing top-notch pre-school education. Other measures include helping foreign spouses and spouses from mainland China to better adapt to life in Taiwan. These practical measures address changes that have taken place in the structure of Taiwan's population and foster development of diverse families, he said.
As for culture and education, the president expressed his belief that there are still many traditions and customs that discriminate against women. He pointed to an example during his tenure as Taipei City mayor, saying that female engineers were not allowed to enter construction sites. However, the president said that traditions such as these must be broken. He added that gender equality must also exist in education. So that gender equality concepts can be instilled in daily life.
In discussing personal safety, President Ma said that the government has already formulated the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act, the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act. While this legislation has already proven effective, the "White Rose Campaign" highlighted that Taiwan still has a long way to go in bridging the gap between implementation of the law and gender awareness among judicial and investigative agencies, he said.
As for health care, President Ma said that while the mortality rate of pregnant women, mothers giving birth, and newborns has fallen sharply, the public should refrain from turning to technology to engage in gender selection. This will be crucial in achieving balanced development of the two sexes, he noted. In addition, President Ma said that in terms of health policy, we not only need to plan a "Long-term Care Services Act," but also need to aggressively promote gender equality education.
Lastly, in terms of environment and technology, President Ma stated that research has shown that environmental changes have a larger impact on females than males. In addition, females are innately more sensitive to the environment. As a result, the ratio of women involved in the decision-making process must be increased in order to avoid gender segregation. This will help to achieve the objective of integrating the concepts of a sustainable environment with gender perspectives, he remarked.
President Ma stressed that the present progress made in gender equality in the ROC is quite significant in the ethnic Chinese community given the influence of the 5,000-year patriarchal culture of China. However, there is still considerable room for improvement. Even though various challenges may be faced in implementing policies, President Ma said he hopes that all government agencies will overcome these difficulties and reach consensus in order to achieve the ultimate goal of ensuring gender-neutral policy.