A record number of female lawmakers in the Legislature is testament to Taiwan’s success in promoting gender equality. (MOFA)

Taiwan ranks eighth globally and first in Asia based on data used to compile the latest U.N. Gender Inequality Index, according to the Cabinet-level Department of Gender Equality.
 
Scoring 0.056 out of 1, with the higher value indicating greater inequalities, Taiwan trails Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Slovenia in that order. South Korea, Singapore and Japan stand at 11th, 13th and 23rd, respectively.
 
The DGE found female participation in Taiwan government sector decision-making is up significantly over the past decade. This is reflected by the record high 38.1 percent of seats held by women in the 2017 Legislature. By comparison, nearly half of the GII’s 161 countries and territories are under 20 percent.
 
In terms of economic empowerment, the number of small and medium enterprises headed by women hit 523,000, or 36.7 percent, up more than 10 percent from 2012.
 
Regarding education and earnings, women account for 50.62 percent of college enrollment, while the hourly wage gap between the sexes averages 14 percent. This is lower than South Korea, 34.1 percent; Japan, 31.9 percent; and the U.S., 18.2 percent.
 
The women of Taiwan are healthier than men. Average life expectancy at birth is 84 years versus 77 years; healthy life expectancy 74 vs. 69; and unhealthy life expectancy 9.6 vs. 8.1.
 
According to the DGE, the findings are contained in its 2019 Gender at a Glance study released last month. The report employs identical assessment methodology as the annual GII survey published by the U.N. Development Programme. (SFC-E)