Gender equality in Taiwan

[Hellstorm]

Hello,

I’m lately wondering about this topic: How is gender equality in Taiwan? Japan for example is really quite patriarchalic: almost all politicians are men, the bosses of the companies are men, the typical image of a woman is to be at home and do the child care etc. About China, I also don’t hear so good stuff.

But what about Taiwan? I’m wondering a little bit, because I have not yet heard of practice like in Japan with this kotobuki-taisha (that you are expected to leave the company after marriage), and also there was Lü Xiulian as vice president or Cai Yingwen etc. So politically, it seems that their status is much better as e.g. in Japan. But this of course can be misleading. Do you have any information (I also would like to hear some personal stories, if available)?

Thanks!

[headhonchoII]

Women here are seen as more equal workers and there are plenty of female managers. That said there can be pressure for women to quit certain jobs if they intend to have a baby, or in particular may not get hired in the first place. Sometimes the employers ask directly. That's more due to the lack of legal oversight for workers in Taiwan. There is a maternity leave law and the situation is slowly improving.

A lot of women leave their kids with grandparents to look after , some cos they need the money or want a career some because they dont want to bother with the difficult part of dealing with young kids. It's part of Taiwanese culture too.
Women in Taiwan generally don't drink much alcohol.

You will also see that men also have defined roles here, carrying bags for girlfriends, often expected to have a car and house and pay a dowry for marriage. After marriage it depends on the couple but often the wife must help look after MIL and FIL especially if they share same household. Again this is changing but it is one of the major reasons marriage rates are dropping.

[Zla'od]

There is a lot of gender-based type-casting for certain jobs (in ways that are not always favorable to men). Women experience more of a glass ceiling, and consequently lower salaries as they age. However, Taiwan has more small or medium-sized businesses than say, Japan. These tend to adopt a fictive family structure in which female managers can find a readily-understood role.

The family system and folk religion being patrilineal, favoritism is often shown to sons. A glance in the kitchen will be likely to reveal more gender-role differentiation. Of course great changes have been occurring in Taiwan's family structure (divorce, later marriages, smaller families, etc.), and families vary considerably in terms of who actually makes most of the decisions. (My wife tells me her father makes the big decisions, but her mother the everyday routine ones.)