The Awakening Foundation, in celebration of the anniversary of the passing of the Equal Protection Employment Act (兩性工作平等法), yesterday launched a booklet chronicling the process from its inception.
"Since we want to share our experience with other social groups and keep a record of our efforts, we decided to take up on the Taipei City Bureau of Social Affairs' offer to have the booklet published," Hsieh Yuan (
In the past, an employer could demand a pregnant employee do extra work, or face the possibility of being transferred to another branch. This used to be a popular method used by employers to get rid of pregnant employees, and women did not have any means to fight such unreasonable treatment.
However, after the promulgation of the Equal Protection Employment Act on March 8 (Womens' Day) last year, female employees are able to file complaints with the administration against harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace.
The act consists of 40 articles which are divided into three chapters: forbiddance of gender discrimination, prevention of sexual harassment and measures to improve equality in the workplace.
The booklet's story starts in August 1987, when 57 female employees from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and 44 from the Kaohsiung Cultural Center were forced to quit their jobs because they reached the age of 30, got married or fell pregnant. Back then it was normal for employers to fire women employees who got married or fell pregnant, but finally a few women decided to stand up and take steps against discrimination.
The booklet records the formation of the draft act and how it evolved while moving through the legislature and the administration. It also contains many photographs of protests, public hearings and activities held to promote the writing of the act.
One thousand copies were printed and the booklets will be distributed to women's groups and Taipei municipal libraries as reference material.
Tien Ting-fang (
"In the past, when a female employee was harassed by a colleague, she could only file a lawsuit against the colleague. But now, if the employer does not try to educate employees about proper behavior between the sexes and solve harassment problems in the company, the employee could appeal to the labor affairs bureau to punish the employer," Tien said.
She also said that the act was not designed for women only; there were articles that entitled men to take days off work to attend their children's births and to take care of family members when necessary.
According to the Taipei City Bureau of Labor Affairs, 32 cases have been filed since the passing of the act, most of which have concerned discrimination against pregnant women.
The bureau gave a hotline number for employees who want to file complaints under the act. The number is: (02) 2728-7023.
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