Women in Taiwan are most concerned about economic pressures, while nearly 20 percent do not think that having a female president has improved the social status of women, a survey conducted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) found.
KMT Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), director of the party’s Women’s Department, yesterday presented the results of a poll that surveyed women older than 20 about what issues most concern them.
Respondents were asked to answer questions using a six-point scale, with zero being the lowest and five the highest, Ko said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Asked if they felt economic pressure, 80.1 percent of respondents answered three or higher, with an average of 3.4 points, Ko said.
“In relation, we really care about whether women are treated equally in their workplaces; this includes receiving equal salaries and opportunities for promotion,” Ko said, adding that the survey did not show clear satisfaction or dissatisfaction with progress in moving toward gender equality in the workplace.
A majority of respondents viewed verbal abuse and sexual harassment as relatively serious issues, with 74.1 percent scoring these issues at three points or higher.
An average score of 2.2 was given for the question about whether having a female president — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) — improved women’s rights and enhanced the social status of women, while 19.5 percent of respondents even gave the question a zero, Ko said.
KMT Legislator Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) said the results indicated that while Tsai has accomplished her own political goals, “gender equality has not been achieved for women in Taiwan.”
The survey also showed an average score of 1.7 regarding the government’s efforts to solve the problem of low salaries, and while 66.8 percent gave a score of between zero and two points, 24.6 percent answered zero, indicating that most women are not satisfied, Ko said.
Satisfaction towards public preschool and education policies both scored below three points, she said, adding that most women agree that Internet or smartphone addiction is becoming a serious problem for children, with an average score of 4.5, Ko said.
The Women’s Department said there are five issues that women are notably against: sexual discrimination, verbal abuse, sexual harassment in the workplace, drugs on campuses and online addiction.
There are also “five wants:” confidence, happiness, health, a friendly environment and better public preschools, it said.
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there