As in many countries, Taiwan has a long way to go before it adequately addresses the widespread problem of gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. With an amendment to the Gender Equality Employment Law (性別工作平等法) under consideration, legislators have an opportunity to demonstrate their dedication to this issue.
The draft amendment passed the legislature’s Health, Environment and Labor Committee on Monday and will next proceed to a legislative vote.
Unlike legislation targeting the perpetrators of harassment, the amendment focuses on the responsibility of companies to confront sexual harassment among employees.
This is not a novel concept. The equal employment law already provides for a penalty of up to NT$100,000 for companies that do not take certain steps to address sexual harassment occurring within their walls. Likewise, the Sexual Harassment Prevention Law (性騷擾防治法) has made similar demands of companies since February 2006.
But this amendment would make NT$100,000 the bare minimum for such a violation and threaten employers with up to NT$500,000 in fines for failing to comply.
The value of this change is twofold. It would send a clear message to companies that ignoring sexual harassment allegations is risky business, with a high price tag for those who are caught. Taipei City officials said in June that three employers had been penalized under the harassment prevention law for turning a blind eye or otherwise mishandling complaints of sexual harassment.
The amendment would also recognize the fact that the cooperation or reluctance of an employer to hear complaints is a primary factor in the outcome of a case. Without key changes in company culture, the chances of effectively combating sexual harassment are slim. Companies must be induced not to simply look the other way.
Where employees do not have an opportunity to file a complaint that will be addressed with concern, discretion and respect, they are unlikely to see any options that would put a stop to harassment.
The Kaohsiung chapter of the women’s rights group the Awakening Foundation found in a survey of about 2,000 respondents that 65 percent of women indicated that they had been the victims of sexual harassment — a figure similar to some estimates in the US and elsewhere. Only 6 percent of the respondents felt legal recourse to be an option.
These percentages are staggering.
Where the situation goes unresolved, despondent employees may see leaving their job as the only remedy. In these cases, both the company and victim of harassment lose out.
Combating sexual harassment is a daunting task that will require action on many levels and the cooperation of employers is just one requisite ingredient. It must be made clear that addressing allegations of any ill-treatment based on gender at the workplace is a basic condition for ensuring workers’ rights. But in a country where improvements in labor rights seem to come at a snail’s pace, it may take some compelling to get all companies on board.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to bully Taiwan by conducting military drills extremely close to Taiwan in late May 2024 and announcing a legal opinion in June on how they would treat “Taiwan Independence diehards” according to the PRC’s Criminal Code. This article will describe how China’s Anaconda Strategy of psychological and legal asphyxiation is employed. The CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) conducted a “punishment military exercise” against Taiwan called “Joint Sword 2024A” from 23-24 May 2024, just three days after President William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was sworn in and
Former US president Donald Trump’s comments that Taiwan hollowed out the US semiconductor industry are incorrect. That misunderstanding could impact the future of one of the world’s most important relationships and end up aiding China at a time it is working hard to push its own tech sector to catch up. “Taiwan took our chip business from us,” the returnee US presidential contender told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview published this week. The remarks came after the Republican nominee was asked whether he would defend Taiwan against China. It is not the first time he has said this about the nation’s
The Yomiuri Shimbun, the newspaper with the largest daily circulation in Japan, on Thursday last week published an article saying that an unidentified high-ranking Japanese official openly spoke of an analysis that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) needs less than a week, not a month, to invade Taiwan with its amphibious forces. Reportedly, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has already been advised of the analysis, which was based on the PLA’s military exercises last summer. A Yomiuri analysis of unclassified satellite photographs confirmed that the PLA has already begun necessary base repairs and maintenance, and is conducting amphibious operation exercises
The first session of the 11th Legislative Yuan’s four-year term ended on Tuesday, and 55 bills were passed in the session, which is the fewest bills passed in one session in 12 years. However, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) said the session delivered a “very good result,” despite there being fights and arguments in this break-in session for many newly elected legislators. In the last two days of the session, lawmakers rushed to pass a slew of resolutions and bills, mainly proposed by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators, who have a combined majority in the