Taiwan is a global leader in female
leadership, which has reflected favorably as the ongoing pandemic has revealed
meaningful female participation in the highest levels of government have
yielded the lowest fatalities and least economic repercussions. UN Women
stated, “The leadership style of women leaders in the COVID-19 response have
been described as more collective than individual, more collaborative than
competitive and more coaching than commanding.”
Following high-level in-person visits by Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the
Environment, Keith Krach earlier this month and US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar in
August, the webinar represents yet another meaningful exchange between US and
Taiwan officials on key issues.
Quotes:
Ambassador Kelly E. Currie, U.S. Ambassador-at-large for Global
Women’s Issues
Currie referenced President Tsai’s feature in TIME Magazine’s 100 Most
Influential Leaders, as well as her recent in-person meeting with the
President.
“Good leadership is good leadership, and we certainly have seen it with
President Tsai.”
“Women have been impacted in this pandemic [...] greater responsibility for
unpaid work.”
Currie also noted the rise of violence
against women due to being forced to shelter in place with their abusers. In
addition, Currie touched on the importance of women in the economy.
“We can and we must empower women as key drivers [...] in the global recovery
effort.”
Ambassador Bi-Kim Hsiao, TECRO-NY
“Female leadership matters. A country
cannot be well run when half of the population is not empowered. A company
cannot be well run when half the working population is excluded.”
On Tsai’s efforts to increase female
participation in the economy: “She’s increased the number of public child
care centers, required large companies to provide child care, made it mandatory
for loans to be made for female founded enterprises [...] all of this to ensure
robust participation by women in our economy, especially at a time when our
workforce is shrinking.”
Hsiao also noted a joint project with the US to empower women entrepreneurs,
the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity, or W-GDP Initiative, which was
launched last year.
Additional Speakers from Taiwan
Zoe Chi, Chair of the Global Network of Women’s
Shelters (GNWS) spoke on the Shadow Pandemic of
rising Gender Based Violence as well as the work GNWS has continued to carry
out through online webinars and trainings. Additional information online.
Jennifer Lu, Executive Director of the Taiwan Equality Campaign, highlighted
the importance of grassroots movements in pushing for systemic change as well
as strategic cooperation with policymakers such as former Legislator and
current Ambassador Hsiao, who was the first to propose a same-sex marriage bill
in the Legislative Yuan.
Lu noted Taiwan’s leadership in same-sex marriage laws in Asia brought hope to
the region as an example of a society which could embrace both progressive
principals while maintaining traditional values.
Call to Action - Twitter Campaign
Moderator Denise Scotto, Esq., Policy
Advisor, VP & UN Representative of Federation of Women in Legal Careers
(Fédération Internationale des Femmes des
Carrières Juridiques, FIFCJ) ended the webinar with a call to action to share best practices for an inclusive and
resilient society using #FeministsDemand
on Twitter.
MOFA YouTube Livestream Link | https://bit.ly/3ikcUF8