Toward True Equality

Publication Date：03/01/2006
Byline：PAT GAO

Facilitating greater economic participation for
women and a better understanding of gender
issues are benefiting the country as a whole.
 

When a woman is denied a business loan these days, it generally has little to do with gender and a lot to do with the cold crunching of numbers. "Many operators of small enterprises are women, and they usually don't have many assets in their name," says Huang Chang-ling, board member of the Foundation of Women's Rights Promotion and Development and an associate professor in National Taiwan University's Department of Political Science.

Yet do those quick calculations make sense for the long term or are they widening a gender gap that hurts the economy as a whole and results in economic disenfranchisement out of step with the prominent role women play in politics and other aspects of life in Taiwan? For Huang the answer is clear. "The government must work here to disrupt market logic," she says. Even from a strictly commercial standpoint, such government intervention might be beneficial. Huang quotes United Nations statistics that show that women are more capable of clearing their debts than men. Moreover, she points out that gender inequality is central to the national interest. "The promotion of gender awareness and gender equality is not a marginal issue that should only receive attention and resources after other issues are taken care of," she says.

In fact, judging from the number of women in the workforce today, it would seem that the question of social justice and economic considerations are inseparable. According to the central government's Council of Labor Affairs, women account for about 42 percent of the general work force, an increase of around 10 percent over the last two decades. In the fast-growing service sector, half of the work force is female. Like women in many other societies, Taiwanese women are challenging traditional gender roles and expecting more from society.

When the Foundation of Women's Rights Promotion and Development, a government-subsidized nonprofit group established in 1998, held an international symposium on women in small enterprises in Taipei last year, a common concern was legal protection for women and greater emphasis on women's issues from the government.

The government today is working on the establishment of a Cabinet-level council of gender equality, and Taiwan has a growing raft of legislation on women's issues, but many important legal protections were adopted only in the last decade, and these changes did not come easily. Legal penalties for domestic violence, for example, did not receive much attention until a woman named Deng Ru-wun murdered her husband in 1993 after years of abuse.

Other basic protections have gained support only in recent years. Toward the end of the last century, there were still quite a few women in Taiwan forced to quit their jobs when they got married or became pregnant. People may feel that such discrimination no longer exists, but subtle forms of gender discrimination persist. Newborn boys, for example, disproportionately outnumber newborn girls. The preference for a male child has outlived Taiwan's reliance on agriculture and the attendant need for manual labor. Even in major cities today boys are often considered more desirable than girls. Chen Man-li, president of the National Alliance of Taiwan Women's Associations, also points out that while daughters now have a legal right to inheritance, they are usually expected to discard that right in deference to their brothers. "Our society still tends to look down on women," Chen says. The National Alliance of Taiwan Women's Associations, established in 2001, helps coordinate information and resources among the now more than 60 groups concerned with gender-related issues. "Women have the right to freedom from repression," Chen says.

Since the late 1990s, Taiwan's lawmakers have been increasingly likely to give those rights a legal foundation. One of the conceptual obstacles, ironically, has been the general consensus on the importance of the family in Taiwan. The family was often viewed, especially by the male head of the household, as a private domain, off-limits to the government. The passage of laws concerning sexual and domestic violence signaled a new willingness by the government to step into household affairs if a member of the family was threatened. In addition, amendments to the Civil Code ensure that a wife can retain her own family name after marriage and retain control over her own property, which previously became property owned jointly by the husband and wife--an arrangement that often gave the husband greater sway because of a traditional emphasis on the prerogatives of men.

Huang Chang-ling, who also serves as the president of the Awakening Foundation, established in 1982, argues that legal protections will not entirely solve the problem but will provide a legal foundation for a greater societal shift in attitudes. "We know that laws can't solve all problems, and there needs to be better enforcement and a well-staffed and well-funded support network," Huang says. "But the absence of laws would leave the problems entirely unsolved." She points out that while society changes legal measures provide a powerful disincentive to violate the rights of women. "People at least reluctantly obey the law to avoid trouble," she says.

The key to gender equality is the true empowerment of women, argues Wang Lih-rong, director of the National Taiwan University's Department of Social Work, in the conference on female entrepreneurship. In the case of childcare, she points out that the services available to parents must not be seen as supplementary welfare services but rather as basic rights to serve the needs of children and parents alike. In other words, childcare services should allow family members to make choices about when to provide care and when to rely on the private or public sectors, so that they are not pressured to provide more or less than they are willing or able to. "Providing choices for women should be the foundation of the childcare policy since it is essential to women's social role and development," Wang says.

If Taiwan seems like a latecomer in the women's rights struggle, it should be remembered that martial law was lifted only in 1987, and national security and economic growth took precedence until recently. Huang, for one, rejects suggestions that this is a Western concept being adopted in the East, arguing instead that it is a process of development. "Gender equality is a modernist rather than Western concept," she says. "If Western countries perform better in this area, that's because they experienced modernization earlier than the Eastern world."

No matter what the underlying reasons are, the debate is starting to look like a full-fledged struggle to redefine women's roles in society. Although much has been done to enhance women's social security and prominence in various fields, Huang points out that women are still excluded from some traditionally masculine fields, such as the military, where women often find a chilly reception the world over. Huang thinks this is an outmoded attitude. "Modern wars are about the technology, not physical prowess," Huang says. Occupational taboos against women also have long existed in the construction sector. "Even the incumbent minister of economic affairs is subjected to chauvinistic attitudes when she inspects construction sites," Huang says.

In the struggle for true equality for women, the law, and indeed government, can only provide basic protections. The sea change in attitudes sought by women's rights advocates extends even to the characterization of women in daily life. Chen Man-li points to the unrealistic expectations created by advertisers and the media. "The omnipresent calls for women to be beautiful and fit and have a spotless face create a wellspring of anxiety for women," says Chen. She rejects certain arguments that the commercialization of the female body can be an empowering phenomenon.

For Huang, the feminist's crusade must be waged against traditional values, including the popular body politics. She believes that the women's movement can build a pluralistic relationship with different sectors, including the media and government. In some ways, this more radical rethinking of gender roles reflects the greater power of women in society. As an essential part of the work force and visible members of society in general, women are looking beyond some of the more fundamental rights and asking just what true gender equality would look like. "The point is to carry on the social dialogue," she says.
 
 

Recent Laws Relating to Women's Rights

1997

Sexual Assault Prevention Act

This basic legislation criminalizes sexual violence against women.

1998

Domestic Violence Prevention Act

The act made possible the government's involvement in household affairs to protect family members.

Amendment to the Civil Code to allow for a spouse to retain her surname

The revision provides legal recognition of the already common practice of a wife retaining her own family name after marriage.

2002

Amendment to the Civil Code to establish personal ownership rights for married women

The revision entitles a wife to her own property that previously fell under joint ownership, with the husband exercising greater authority.

Gender Equality in Employment Act

The act prohibits hiring, training, promoting, paying or dismissing employees based on gender or gender-related issues, such as pregnancy and marriage. It also considers the employees' physical and domestic needs. For example, the law assures female employees the right to menstrual leave as well as eight weeks of paid and up to two years of unpaid maternity leave.

2003

Family Education Act

The law stipulates that the central government, local governments and schools set up institutions and provide courses for furthering awareness of different domestic issues, such as the relations between husband and wife, parents and children and between sexes.

2004

Gender Equity Education Act

The act requires that the central government, local governments and schools set up committees to supervise the use of educational resources for promoting gender equality. It is intended to build a gender-conscious environment at schools. It also prohibits the recruiting, teaching or hiring of administrative staff based on gender or sexual orientation. Prevention measures against sexual assault and sexual harassment on campuses are also included in this act.

2005

Sexual Harassment Prevention Act

The act extends legal protections for women by including nonviolent harassment.