Taiwan's most powerful women

Gender equality has come a long way in Taiwan since the early feminist movements of the late 1970s led by Lee Yuan-chen (李元貞) and current Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).

Lee launched the first women's magazine and women's organization, both called The Awakening, in 1979. But it wasn't until the cross-departmental Commission on Women's Rights Promotion under the Executive Yuan was established in 1997 that gender equality was actively promoted through policy.

The implementation of policies such as the Gender Equality in Employment Law (兩性平等法) provided analysis on women's participation in the workforce and assisted women who want to start their own businesses.

While the number of women entering the workplace in Taiwan increases marginally each year, it remains among the lowest in Asia.

According to statistics from the Council of Labor Affairs, 47 percent of the female population 18 or older was part of the labor force in 2002. This was 2 percent lower than in Japan and 3 percent lower than in South Korea.

Politics is one place where women have a visual presence in Taiwan. The percentage of female representatives in Taipei and Kaohsiung was 33 and 23 percent in 2002, according to statistics from the Executive Yuan. Women also make up a quarter of currently serving cabinet members, the highest rate of participation in cabinet-level positions in Asia.

The politician

While there is strong female representation in the political arena, there is still only a small number of women in senior government positions, said Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), a current DPP legislator.

"It's progressing but it's approaching the threshold when men will start to feel threatened by competition from women. When we reach that threshold, I feel there might be a set-back before we move on again," she said.

Tsai has previously served as Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) chairperson and National Security Council advisor, areas traditionally dominated by men.

Aware of the barriers faced by women in Taiwanese politics, at the end of the day she views herself as a professional politician whose life is not much different from that of her male counterparts.

"Politics is challenging and carries a lot of responsibility. But when you make the right decision and convince people to go along with that decision, then the achievement is extremely gratifying. This kind of pressure and achievement extends to male and female politicians," she said.

Her advice to women who want to enter the political battleground is to have patience, persistence and professionalism.

"I would say women are disadvantaged in the beginning because society is not yet fair to them. So one way to make them more competitive is to improve their professionalism. And there is no hurry; they should spend time to gain work experience and be mentally prepared for the environment they are entering," she said.

The arts administrator

Not all sectors have experienced dramatic changes over the decade, said deputy director of the National Palace Museum Lin Mun-lee (林曼麗).

"A lot of people believe women are more suited to work in the cultural arena. It is one reason why there is a high number of female employees in the field."

As the former National Culture and Arts Foundation chairperson and first female director of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, she is respected in the art community by both administrators and artists.