The US is seeking greater cooperation with Taiwan in addressing issues related to women’s economic and political participation, a visiting official responsible for women’s issues from the US Department of State said on Friday.
Stephenie Foster, senior adviser in the department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, said the purpose of her first visit to Taiwan is to attend a workshop titled “Enhancing Prosperity and Opportunities for Women in the Asia-Pacific Region” and to explore potential areas for cooperation between the two sides.
“Women are important to economic development,” Foster said at a news conference in Taipei, adding that the workshop offered an opportunity for the two sides to learn from each other.
The US government believes that investment in women and girls is the right, smart thing to do, she said, citing research showing that economies do better when women and girls have opportunities.
The workshop is aimed at looking at issues such as decreasing the barriers women face in political and economic participation, she said.
During the trip, Foster is to meet with female officials and representatives of several local non-governmental organizations (NGO) promoting women’s rights, to “learn better what’s happening here,” Foster told reporters.
Also in Taipei to attend the workshop and the news conference were Marjorie Margolies, president of Women’s Campaign International, a US group promoting women’s equality, and Valerie Biden Owens, executive vice president of Joe Slade White and Co, a US media strategy firm.
Lauding the relatively high rate of women’s economic and political participation in Taiwan, Margolies expressed hope that Friday’s workshop would be the starting point for similar events in Taiwan to bring experts and international NGOs to discuss women’s issues.
She said that over the next five years, Taiwan would hopefully become a hub for other nations to meet and discuss women’s issues.
Owens, sister of US Vice President Joe Biden, stressed the importance of women’s political participation.
She served as a campaign manager for her brother.
As a volunteer for Women’s Campaign International, Owens said she has helped train women in many nations to “get a seat at the political table.”
“It is the ballot box that will bring the greatest change to their lives,” she said.
She also emphasized the importance of confidence, because “confidence brings power and power brings change.”
Their visit to Taiwan came after Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was elected the nation’s first female president on Jan. 16, with her inauguration set for May 20.
Asked about the issue of female presidents, Margolies said that many nations have had female presidents, adding that “leadership power is a real art.”
Sometimes, women handle politics differently than men, she added.
The workshop was an initiative of the US-Taiwan Global Cooperation and Training Framework, through which the US and Taiwan engage on a broad range of transnational issues, said the American Institute in Taiwan, which represents US interests in Taiwan in the absence of bilateral diplomatic ties.
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