Taiwan tops Asia in female lawmaker representation: Gender report

Taipei, Dec. 10 (CNA) More than 40 percent of legislative seats in Taiwan were held by women in 2024, the highest proportion of any country in Asia, according to the Taiwanese government's latest report on gender equality.

Taiwan also ranked sixth globally and first in Asia in 2023 in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI).

These achievements were highlighted in the Executive Yuan's fifth report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), according to a news release issued Wednesday.

Gender-violence prevention has also been strengthened in the past few years through the Stalking and Harassment Prevention Act, the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, among other legislation, the release said.

The Executive Yuan's Department of Gender Equality said Minister without Portfolio Lin Ming-hsin (林明昕) chaired a meeting on Nov. 25 that approved the CEDAW report.

According to the department, the report outlines Taiwan's progress on women's rights and gender equality from 2021 to 2024.

The department said Taiwan enacted the Enforcement Act of Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 2011 and implemented it in 2012, giving CEDAW domestic legal force and requiring a national report every four years.

Taiwan issued earlier reports in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021.

Although Taiwan is not a United Nations (UN) member, the review meeting for the CEDAW report follows procedures used by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the department said.

Five international experts will visit Taiwan in July 2026 to assess the latest report and offer recommendations, the department said. Taiwanese experts and civil society groups will also take part.

The full report has been published (in Chinese) on the website of the Executive Yuan's Gender Equality Committee (GEC), the news release said.

The latest report is not yet available in English.