Working Women And State Policies In Taiwan

This book concentrates on exploring the changing relationship between the state and working women in Taiwan by incorporating social, economic, political and ideological factors into the historical analysis. It traces the history of state policies on women's employment, the impact of family and gender ideology on women's employment, women's roles in capitalist development, and the influence of women's movements on policy-making in Taiwan. Finally, it analyses the Taiwanese welfare regime in a gender-critical way.

An important study of Taiwan's first generation of working women, documenting their and their families' views of their employment and the effects that wage earning has on the status and lives of these women.

Examining the employment lives of Chinese women living under different government systems at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the contributors to this volume present an overview of factors affecting the employment status of women. The volume includes chapters on the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore - nations that have common Chinese cultural experiences but very different economic systems and government structures. Policies and laws vary widely in Chinese societies from the egalitarian, socialist provisions of The People's Republic of China to the laissez-faire, capitalist policy the British advocated for the Hong Kong government before 1997. Employment of Women in Chinese Cultures provides a theoretical introduction from both Chinese and Western perspectives, as well as summaries of the effect on women's employment of government policies on taxation, health and safety, reproduction, childcare, and education in each nation-state. By juxtaposing the work of women of a similar cultural heritage living under different government systems, new insights are gained that can benefit Chinese working women wherever they live. Scholars and students of management, labor, gender, and China will find this volume of great interest. Government leaders will also find the research on women's employment lives a useful tool in future decision-making.

Women, Business and the Law 2021 is the seventh in a series of annual studies measuring the laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. The project presents eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they move through their lives and careers: Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension. This year’s report updates all indicators as of October 1, 2020 and builds evidence of the links between legal gender equality and women’s economic inclusion. By examining the economic decisions women make throughout their working lives, as well as the pace of reform over the past 50 years, Women, Business and the Law 2021 makes an important contribution to research and policy discussions about the state of women’s economic empowerment. Prepared during a global pandemic that threatens progress toward gender equality, this edition also includes important findings on government responses to COVID-19 and pilot research related to childcare and women’s access to justice.

This book is the first in English to consider women's movements and feminist discourses in twentieth-century Taiwan. Doris T. Chang examines the way in which Taiwanese women in the twentieth century selectively appropriated Western feminist theories to meet their needs in a modernizing Confucian culture. She illustrates the rise and fall of women's movements against the historical backdrop of the island's contested national identities, first vis-à-vis imperial Japan (1895-1945) and later with postwar China (1945-2000). In particular, during periods of soft authoritarianism in the Japanese colonial era and late twentieth century, autonomous women's movements emerged and operated within the political perimeters set by the authoritarian regimes. Women strove to replace the "Good Wife, Wise Mother" ideal with an individualist feminism that meshed social, political, and economic gender equity with the prevailing Confucian family ideology. However, during periods of hard authoritarianism from the 1930s to the 1960s, the autonomous movements collapsed. The particular brand of Taiwanese feminism developed from numerous outside influences, including interactions among an East Asian sociopolitical milieu, various strands of Western feminism, and even Marxist-Leninist women's liberation programs in Soviet Russia. Chinese communism appears not to have played a significant role, due to the Chinese Nationalists' restriction of communication with the mainland during their rule on post-World War II Taiwan. Notably, this study compares the perspectives of Madame Chiang Kai-shek, whose husband led as the president of the Republic of China on Taiwan from 1949 to 1975, and Hsiu-lien Annette Lu, Taiwan's vice president from 2000 to 2008. Delving into period sources such as the highly influential feminist monthly magazine Awakening as well as interviews with feminist leaders, Chang provides a comprehensive historical and cross-cultural analysis of the struggle for gender equality in Taiwan.

In the English-language publication market, this book is one of the earliest, and perhaps the first academic book focusing on Taiwanese women and gender issues from the late Qing Dynasty to the twenty-first century. It features the interrelations between cultural trends and women in Taiwan. In most current Western research and academic institution, Taiwanese studies deals with modern Taiwan since the Qing Dynasty or the Opium War to the contemporary era, and usually belongs to the division of Chinese studies or modern Chinese studies in the overall area of Asian studies. Historically and socioculturally, however, cultural dimensions in Taiwan are not exactly the same as those in mainland China and Hong Kong. This book sets itself apart by providing a bird's-eye view of gender issues impacted by diverse cultures in Taiwan from the Japanese colonial era to the present century.

In the past few decades, societies in Asia have experienced rapid and dramatic changes in their economic, social and political spheres. Despite the wide diversity among these countries, a few general trends can be observed. Globalization has swept across Asia, bringing intensive economic interactions, with a strong commitment to liberalism and market capitalism. Wage labour has become the common form of employment. Individuals, as well as countries, are increasingly exposed to the competitive and uncertain global market. Employment protection, particularly for vulnerable labour groups – youth, women, seniors and migrants – has become a pressing issue for most Asian governments. Industrialization and urbanization have had a major impact on demographics, family structures and normative frameworks. The declining fertility rate has been recognized as a defining feature of a modern society, leading to small families and reducing instances of multi-generational co-residency. Changing family structures have contributed to changes in family values and roles, especially the role of women. Sometimes willingly, sometimes compelled, women are entering the workplace in increasing numbers, particularly as migrant workers. Similarly, the elderly are experiencing changes in their roles and participation in society. Family duties compete, and are often in conflict with, the demands of work. The issue of providing adequate and quality care to family members has been exacerbated by the fact that Asian societies are ageing. It is commonly acknowledged that, in Asian societies, personal care and support needs are primarily met by family – both immediate and extended – and, to a lesser degree, by community networks. Governments had gradually established their own social welfare systems in an effort to support economic growth and sustain their legitimacy by meeting certain recognized social needs. The success of these ventures varies across societies, and, naturally, there have been criticisms of the breadth and depth of these provisions. This book addresses social issues related to family, ageing and work that arise from these changes in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Philippine and Sri Lanka. These societies represent different levels of economic and social development, but face similar challenges and their social interventions can be usefully compared. This variety of subjects provides the reader with a more comprehensive understanding of the changes that have occurred, the problems that have emerged and the strategies that have been adopted. This volume provides insight into ways of addressing social issues in this rapidly changing part of the world.

The contributors to this edited volume explore the effects of various development strategies and associated macroeconomic policies on women’s well-being and progress towards gender equality. Detailed analyses of major UN reports on gender reveal the different approaches to assessing absolute and relative progress for women and the need to take into account the specifics of policy regimes when making such assessments. The book argues that neoliberal policies, especially the liberalization of trade and investment, make it difficult to close gender wage and earnings gaps, and new gender sensitive policies need to be devised. These and other issues are all examined in more detail in several gendered development histories of countries from Latin America and Asia.