Women make large-scale socioeconomic gains in Taiwan

2016/03/09

Taiwan’s women are making significant socioeconomic gains in education, labor participation and wages, according to a report released March 4 by the ROC Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.

Last year, 45 percent of women aged 15 and above held tertiary education degrees compared to 39.3 percent for men. From 2012, more Taiwan women were tertiary-educated than men.

The average monthly salary of women in the industrial and services sectors was NT$43,709 (US$1,340) in 2015, up 2.9 percent from the year before. This trumped growth of 2.3 percent for men.

Labor participation rates for women continued an upward trend of recent years to reach 50.7 percent. The numbers were under those of men in all age categories, with 30.4 percent for 55-59 years the lowest result.

The DGBAS said labor participation rates reflect Taiwan’s marriage and fertility statistics, adding that the average age of first marriage for women increased to 29.9 in 2014, while for mothers it was 31.5.

Fertility rates also rose as a result of government measures, according to the DGBAS. In 2015, the average fertility rate for women of childbearing age was 1.2 births, up from 1.1 in 2011.

The number of women in Taiwan stood at 11.78 million in 2015, 68,000 more than men. The fairer sex achieved numerical dominance in 2013 for the first time in the nation’s history.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=242767&ctNode=2194&mp=9)