Wed, Jan 07, 2026 page3

• Ministry vows to continue faculty gender push

  • By Rachel Lin / Staff reporter
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  The proportion of higher-education faculty who are women in Taiwan has steadily increased in the past few years, but is still slightly lower than the global average, the Ministry of Education said yesterday, adding that it would continue its promotion of gender initiatives in higher education.

  Female faculty rates were 37.1 percent in the 2024-2025 academic year, ministry data showed, while rates in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, as well as the rest of the EU, are generally between 40 and 45 percent.

  Women made up 25.7 percent of professors, 38.6 percent of associate professors and 40.8 percent of assistant professors, the data showed.

  

  Students attend a class at Yuanpei University of Medical Technology in Hsinchu City in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Education Department

  While the proportion has increased in some higher-ranking positions, the overall personnel distribution shows that most female faculty are still assistant professors and lecturers, indicating a structural discrepancy between gender ratios and academic ranks, the ministry said.

  On the other hand, the gender composition among college students has become aligned with the international trend — a near-equal male-to-female ratio, with female students even in the majority in some fields.

  From 2021 to last year, the ministry helped higher-education institutions integrate gender mainstreaming into administration, curriculum design and resource management through institutional development, professional training and cross-institutional support networks, Department of Student Affairs and Special Education Division head Lin Pei-yu (林沛雨) said.

  The efforts have fostered an evidence-based, institution-oriented governance model for gender equality, Lin said.

  In the institutional aspect, the ministry commissioned National Taiwan University’s Center for Population and Gender Studies to establish the National Gender Mainstreaming Center for Higher Education, she said.

  By introducing a “partner school” model, the center helped universities set up implementation mechanisms, as well as to develop curricula and institutional review tools customized to higher education, she said.

  Through using the tools — which include gender-related data, analyses, impact assessments and budgeting — gender sensitivity in campus policymaking was boosted, she said.

  As the number of participating institutions grew annually, gender mainstreaming has moved from a pilot program to a standardized and routine governance process within universities, Lin said.

  For example, Chung Shan Medical University leveraged its medical and healthcare expertise to systematically integrate gender perspectives into curriculum reviews and institutional decisionmaking processes, she said.

  Through cross-departmental collaboration, Chung Shan Medical improved the practical application of gender sensitivity in teaching and administration, she added.

  Meanwhile, National Changhua University of Education focused on administrative governance, Lin said, adding that its efforts included systematically reviewing the gender composition of university committees and management posts, and addressing internal gender gap issues by incorporating budgeting tools.
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