Sacrificing their careers to take on a caretaker role is not only unfair to women, but also a national loss, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, pledging to remove all hurdles to increase female participation in the workplace.
Speaking at an event in Taipei organized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to celebrate International Women’s Day, Tsai said that while women have demonstrated remarkable skills in various areas, they are constrained in the workplace because of insufficient government support.
As the burden of caregiving mostly falls on women, many feel compelled to give up their jobs to care for children or family members, Tsai said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Statistics show that the labor participation rate among women falls when they reach about 30 years old, presumably due to marriage.
“This is not only unfair to women, but is also a loss to the nation. That is why supporting and removing barriers to female employment is an important government policy,” Tsai said, who was last year elected as the nation’s first female president.
According to statistics compiled by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the labor participation rate for married men and women in 2015 stood at 70.5 percent and 49.6 percent respectively.
However, the labor participation rate for unmarried men and women during the same period was not as skewed — at 64.3 percent and 61.5 percent respectively.
Tsai said that the government last year amended the Act of Gender Equality in Employment (性別工作平等法) requiring companies with more than 100 employees to provide childcare facilities, while relaxing rules for government subsidies for smaller corporations planning to offer similar services to workers.
Other efforts include promoting the “long-term services care program 2.0” — which seeks to make quality long-term care accessible to more elderly and disadvantaged people — and easing the requirements for small loans to female entrepreneurs, Tsai said.
The government also plans to integrate different resources to help alleviate the everyday pressures of raising families to allow both parents to focus on their careers, Tsai said.
While it is imperative for the government to increase women’s labor participation rates, “allowing all women to be able to fulfill their dreams and make their fair share of contribution to social prosperity is the ultimate goal we should pursue behind those numbers,” Tsai said.
“To do that requires changing traditional social values and continued efforts from the government to instill the concept of gender mainstreaming in various policies,” Tsai said.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old