The Ministry of Labor (MOL) is drafting measures to encourage women to re-enter the workforce, including providing a subsidy of up to NT$30,000 to women who have returned to work for more than 90 days after leaving their last job for more than 180 days, and giving companies a monthly subsidy of NT$3,000 if they offer shorter working hours to encourage re-employment.
Taiwan’s female labor force participation rate stood at 51.5 percent, lower than Japan’s 53.5 percent and South Korea’s 53.3 percent, a 2021 National Development Council report said.
The Ministry of Labor’s Department of Statistics said that many women leave their jobs in their 20s or 30s to get married or have children.
Photo: Lee Chin-hui, Taipei Times
However, while women in Japan and South Korea tend to re-enter the job market in their 50s, Taiwanese women rarely return after exiting the workforce.
Workforce Development Agency official Ho Wei-tun (何維敦) yesterday said that the ministry’s re-employment plan would allocate NT$1.1 billion (US$35.58 million) over three years to offer subsidies for employment, self-learning and reduced working hours.
The government would offer companies willing to reduce working hours NT$3,000 in monthly subsidies to help women better balance work and life, Ho said.
The goal is to reintroduce 70,000 women to the job market and raise the female labor participation rate to 53 percent, Ho said.
The measures could be implemented as early as next month, the ministry said.
The ministry is also promoting a plan to address the post-COVID-19 pandemic labor shortage by providing up to NT$13,000 in monthly subsidies to new employees in severely short-staffed industries.
The project is expected to cost NT$1 billion and is estimated to help 20,000 people find work.
According to the Key Points for Trialing the Special Subsidized Employment Project to Alleviate the Labor Shortage (專案缺工就業獎勵試辦實施要點), those working full-time at “short-staffed positions” are eligible for a monthly subsidy of NT$6,000.
Elderly people, people with disabilities, indigenous people, people who have not worked for an extended period or women re-entering the work force would qualify for a larger subsidy of NT$10,000.
People working full-time in remote areas or outlying islands would be entitled to an additional NT$3,000.
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