Tue, Dec 21, 1999 page2

• Women's rights progress gets mixed report

  GENDER EQUALITY A women's rights group has pointed to increased safety, against a backdrop of widespread discrimination in many parts of society

  • By Yu Sen-lun / STAFF REPORTER
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  In Taiwan, only one out of every eight professors is a woman. In the past 10 years, women's participation in the labor force has not topped 45 percent. There are five counties and cities in Taiwan that are without any women in positions of senior responsibility in their local governments. These facts were among a long list of inequalities presented yesterday in the Awakening Foundation's (婦?k新知基金會) 1999 Women's Rights Report.

  The report indicated that while women's personal safety has gained ground in the past five years, inequality still exists in the workplace and in politics, as well as in education and marriage.

  "This year's women's rights can be scored 70 to 75 points out of 100," said Lee Yuan-chen (李??s), a literature professor and one of the founders of the women's advocacy group. Lee said the passage of the Sexual Assault Prevention Law last year and the implementation of the Domestic Violence Prevention Law this June, Taiwan women's human rights have made some progress.

  But there are still shortcomings in women's protection. The report said that according to government statistics, rape cases doubled -- from 605 to 1,701 cases -- in the last 10 years.

  After the Domestic Violence Prevention Law went into effect, there were 886 cases filing for emergency restraining orders within the first month. The figures indicate that domestic violence still occurs frequently, Lee said.

  Lee took a recent dispute involving former martial arts film actor Wang Yu (?y揉) as an example. Wang last week went to the media, accusing his estranged wife Wang Kai-chen (?y??s) of committing adultery with another man, though the two Wangs have not lived together for many years. The couple had not had a divorce approved, which meant the two were still legally married.

  Lee said Taiwan's divorce laws still lack a separation period -- a stipulated period of separation after which a couple may apply for unconditional divorce.

  Lee also said the terms for filing divorce are very strict and therefore women who suffer from domestic violence or other marriage problems have difficulty leaving their husbands, she said.

  Regarding education equality, the foundation said a bias is still distinct. Women, Lee said, account for around 99 percent of kindergarten teachers. But when it comes to higher education, female college teachers comprised only 34.5 percent of the total. The number of male professors is seven times more than that of women. This implies that women are still expected to take nurturing jobs rather than be disseminators of knowledge and professional skills, according to Lai Yu-mei (賴?舠?, research director of the foundation.

  Women's participation rate in the labor force is another indication of institutionalized discrimination, according to Chen Mei-hua (3祝??, secretary general of the foundation. Chen said the rate of women in the workforce has remained steady at 45 percent over the past 10 years, lagging behind Japan (50 percent), the US (60 percent) and Europe (80 percent).

  Citing government statistics, the foundation said that out of 4.49 million unemployed women, 58.6 percent are home-makers. The report indicated that 25.8 percent of home-makers took on the role at the request of their families.

  Even for women who have joined the labor market, obstacles remain in their choice of careers, Chen said.

  Chen also pointed out that at least seven national exams are gender-biased in which quotas for women's admission were fixed at levels far less than that for men. They include accounting staff, finance staff, intelligence agents, judicial staff and postal workers.

  In a positive note, the report said female participation in the legislature has reached 19 percent -- the highest rate in Taiwan's history and 22nd among parliaments around the globe.

  But five counties and cities -- Tainan City, Tainan County, Penghu County, Yunlin County and Taitung County -- were said to be "biased regions" in which there are no female leaders in local governments.
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