Data from the Executive Yuan’s Gender Equality Committee yesterday highlighted improvements in gender equality in the nation.
Of the batch of legislators elected in January, 47 of 113, or 41.59 percent, are women, the committee said.
Data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union showed that Taiwan has the highest proportion of female legislators of any parliament in Asia, and the 16th-highest worldwide, it said.
The number of women in decisionmaking roles in government, schools and private companies has also steadily increased in the past few years, with women accounting for nearly 43 percent of such roles overall, the committee said.
The gender wage gap has narrowed as well: Over the past decade, the average hourly wage gap fell from 17.9 percent in 2009 to 14.2 percent last year, the committee’s data showed.
Separately yesterday, a survey released by the Chinese Institute of Engineers showed that only 13 percent of the nation’s engineers are women and most of them believe they have to work harder to receive the same recognition or promotions as their male counterparts.
The survey on the relationship between career development and gender differences in engineering, the first of its kind in Taiwan, was conducted among engineers at 39 enterprises, seven government agencies, and eight research and development companies that together employ 130,000 people.
A total of 1,307 valid samples were collected, including 531 from female respondents.
Women make up 15 percent of engineers in the civil engineering sector, 29 percent in architecture and urban planning, 8 percent in electrical and electronic engineering, 18 percent in information and communications technology and 17 percent in chemical engineering materials, the survey showed.
Forty-four percent of engineers in biomedical engineering are female, while women account for 17 percent of engineers in environmental engineering/green energy and 3 percent in mechanical engineering, it showed.
Across all sectors, women make up 13 percent of engineers, the survey found.
The institute, which is 109 years old, selected its first female director in 2012 and last year established a female engineers’ committee to bring more women into the engineering and science and technology sectors, institute president Liao Ching-jong (廖慶榮) said.
There is still a large gap between the number of female engineering graduates and those working in the field, Liao said.
More than 60 percent of male and female engineers saw no difference between male and female supervisors, but said that it is more difficult for women to find a job and be promoted in the field, said Hsueh Wen-jean (薛文珍), head of the institute’s female engineers’ committee, citing the survey.
HOT-SPRING RETREAT: A hotel in Japan incurred a loss of about US$1,846 after a Taiwanese man failed to show up for his reservation due to a misunderstood message A Taiwanese man who failed to show up for a hotel reservation in Japan has apologized and offered compensation, the hotel said yesterday. The man, surnamed Lee (李), reserved a room at the Yufuin Tsubaki hot-spring hotel in Oita for the Lunar New Year holiday, but failed to show up on Friday. Lee yesterday called the hotel to apologize and offered to compensate the losses caused by his failure to show up, a hotel employee surnamed Yashiro said. Lee’s wife also called on Sunday to apologize, she said. Lee had booked a two-night stay with upscale seafood and beef meals, the hotel said. His
Two Taiwanese Americans were among those killed in a mass shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles (TECO LA) said it contacted local authorities, who confirmed that two of the 11 killed in the shooting were Taiwanese Americans. “TECO LA conveys our heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families, and sends our prayers to the injured for a speedy recovery,” it said in a statement. The office said it is assisting the relatives of one of the victims to travel from
A senior US senator on Monday questioned the willingness of some US allies to help defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. Although Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) expects the US and Japan to respond in a war in the Taiwan Strait, he was “a little less confident what our other allies would do,” US Senator John Cornyn said. Australia and New Zealand have voiced support for Taiwan, but it “is a far cry from committing troops to repel an invasion,” Cornyn said during a discussion on China, Russia and the state of US military readiness at a forum hosted
Whisky connoisseurs are a rapidly growing demographic in Taiwan, driving prices ever higher as collectors vie for the most coveted editions. Although not a new pastime, whisky collection has been picking up steam in recent years. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, Taiwan was the third-largest buyer of Scotch whisky in 2021 in monetary terms. One collector, surnamed Fu (傅), said there are many types of whisky that are ripe for collecting. One that has skyrocketed in price in recent years is the Macallan 12-year-old Gran Reserva, which bears a striking purple label, said Fu, who has more than 10 years of experience as