President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of March 8 attended a reception at the Grand Hotel in Taipei held by the National Women's League of the ROC to celebrate International Women's Day 2012. The president stated that a large percentage of women receive higher education here, mentioned that Taiwan scores well in various indices which rate the status of women, and explained the government's efforts to promote gender equality.
In remarks at the event, the president first applauded and expressed his respect for the contributions made by the National Women's League in promoting rights for women, protecting the interests of underprivileged women, and engaging in charitable work. He also stated that while Taiwan ranks 137th in the world in terms of area and 50th in terms of population, it places much higher in global indices on the status of women that are tabulated by the United Nations. In the Gender-related Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), the ROC has been ranked 20th and 22nd, respectively. And in the Gender Inequality Index, which replaced the GDI and GEM in 2010, the ROC ranks fourth internationally, which points to the fact that the status of women here continues to rise.
President Ma furthermore mentioned that a very high percentage of women in Taiwan have received higher education. In 2009, 38.7% of men between the ages of 25 and 64 had received higher education, while the ratio for women stood at 35.9%. These figures are 13.3 and 11.1 percentage points higher, respectively, than the OECD averages, he pointed out, meaning that Taiwan compares favorably with advanced nations in this respect. Moreover, the gap between men and women is only 2.8 percentage points, which shows that opportunities for both genders to receive higher education are comparatively equal.
President Ma also briefed listeners on the substantive reforms carried out by the government to enhance the position of women within society. Shortly after the government relocated to Taiwan in 1949, it began to rigorously enforce monogamy. It also gradually abolished the abusive "foster daughter system" [i.e. the adoption of girls as child brides, maids, or chattel slaves]. Article 7 of the ROC Constitution of 1947 provided for equal rights for both genders, he pointed out. Moreover, Article 10, paragraph 6 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the ROC provides that the state shall protect the dignity of women, safeguard their personal safety, and further substantive gender equality. President Ma stated that the Executive Yuan on January 1 of this year established the Department of Gender Equality. This gives the premier a mechanism via which to meet regularly with female leaders from various sectors and engage in dialogue on the rights of women. The Executive Yuan has also issued a Policy Agenda for Gender Equality, thus promoting the inclusion of gender concepts in national policies.
President Ma also mentioned that the labor participation rate among females in Taiwan is over 50%. He said that the government in 2011 incorporated the content of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) into domestic law to ensure that gender equality here corresponds to international practices. Furthermore, the government in 2009 launched a system in which women on unpaid parental leave not only can keep their jobs, but also receive financial subsidies. To date, over 104,000 recipients have benefitted from this assistance, and the total amount of such subsidies exceeds NT$8.7 billion. The vast majority of the applicants are employees of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), which shows that SME employers are also making every effort to care for their employees. In order to relieve the financial pressure on families in caring for young children, the government provides monthly subsidies of between NT$2,500 and NT$5,000 for childcare up to the age of two.
President Ma also detailed policies that aim to enhance the rights of women. For instance, he stated that business startup loans for women have been raised from NT$500,000 to NT$1 million. In addition, measures to provide for pregnancy leave have been enhanced. Last year, the Building Act was amended to require renovations of older structures to ensure a better ratio of restrooms for females. Meanwhile, just three days ago, the government designated March 5 as Equal Pay Day. The government has also asked that academic medical centers throughout Taiwan establish one-stop service for women and provide privacy for them during doctor's visits so that they will feel more at ease in seeking medical care and be free of unwelcome distractions.
President Ma emphasized that the policies he just mentioned show that the government places high importance on women's rights. In the future, the government will continue to work to further enhance women's rights in order to realize the objective as set forth in the Constitution.
Also attending the event were Vice President-elect Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and Mrs. Wu, Presidential Senior Advisors Dr. Cecilia Y. Koo (辜嚴倬雲) and Ding Mou-shih (丁懋時), Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源), Minister of Labor Affairs Wang Ju-hsuan (王如玄), and National Youth Commission Minister Chen Yi-chen (陳以真).