Taiwan marks Feb. 27 as Equal Pay Day

2023/03/03

Taiwan’s Equal Pay Day fell on Feb. 27 this year, the same date as last year, reflecting government focus on narrowing the wage gap between men and women, the Ministry of Labor said March 1.
 
This day is symbolic and reflects how far into the year the average woman must work in order to have earned what the average man earned the entire previous year. It is dedicated to raising public awareness and promoting greater gender equality.
 
According to the MOL, bridging the gender pay gap is a top policy priority for the government and the date this year is the result of a recent survey conducted by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics that showed in 2022, men’s average hourly wage was NT$373 (US$12.21) and women’s was NT$314.
 
This translates into a pay gap of 15.8 percent, meaning that women in Taiwan have to work 58 days more than men to receive the same annual salary, the ministry added.
 
Statistics also show that the gender pay gap in Taiwan remains lower than that of Japan at 30.6 percent, South Korea at 30.2 percent and the U.S. at 17 percent, based on their results of 2021, 2021 and 2022, respectively, the MOL said.


Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)