The hourly pay of male workers in Taiwan last year averaged NT$361, while that of female workers was NT$304, a gap of 15.8 percent, the Ministry of Labor said on Tuesday as it announced Feb. 27 as equal pay day.
The wage difference means that women in Taiwan must work 58 days more to catch up with men in terms of annual earnings, the ministry said, citing data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
That is why equal pay day would be marked on Feb. 27, because it is the 58th day of the year, the ministry added.
The gap between men’s and women’s hourly wages fell from 14.9 percent in 2019 to 14.8 percent in 2020, before jumping to 15.8 percent last year, it said.
The ministry attributed the rise to a larger hourly pay increase of 4.6 percent received by men last year, compared with 3.3 percent given to women.
Over the past decade, women have received higher average annual pay hikes than men, except for last year, said Jasmine Mei (梅家瑗), head of the ministry’s Department of Statistics.
In the hospitality and restaurant sector, where women make up 56.3 percent of the workforce, employees received a 1.2 percent increase in hourly pay on average, due to a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert implemented last year, while in the male-dominated manufacturing sector, employees received a 5.5 percent rise in hourly pay thanks to booming foreign trade, Mei said.
The gender pay gap in the manufacturing sector also widened, as women employed in the electronics manufacturing industry received an hourly pay hike of 6.7 percent last year, lower than the 13.2 percent given to their male counterparts, she added.
However, the gender pay gap in Taiwan is still smaller than in several other countries.
Japan last year had a gender wage gap of 30.7 percent, South Korea’s was 30.4 percent and the US’ 16.9 percent, ministry data showed.
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS