The Ministry of Labor (MOL) is drafting measures to encourage women to re-enter the workforce, including providing a subsidy of up to NT$30,000 to women who have returned to work for more than 90 days after leaving their last job for more than 180 days, and giving companies a monthly subsidy of NT$3,000 if they offer shorter working hours to encourage re-employment.
Taiwan’s female labor force participation rate stood at 51.5 percent, lower than Japan’s 53.5 percent and South Korea’s 53.3 percent, a 2021 National Development Council report said.
The Ministry of Labor’s Department of Statistics said that many women leave their jobs in their 20s or 30s to get married or have children.
Photo: Lee Chin-hui, Taipei Times
However, while women in Japan and South Korea tend to re-enter the job market in their 50s, Taiwanese women rarely return after exiting the workforce.
Workforce Development Agency official Ho Wei-tun (何維敦) yesterday said that the ministry’s re-employment plan would allocate NT$1.1 billion (US$35.58 million) over three years to offer subsidies for employment, self-learning and reduced working hours.
The government would offer companies willing to reduce working hours NT$3,000 in monthly subsidies to help women better balance work and life, Ho said.
The goal is to reintroduce 70,000 women to the job market and raise the female labor participation rate to 53 percent, Ho said.
The measures could be implemented as early as next month, the ministry said.
The ministry is also promoting a plan to address the post-COVID-19 pandemic labor shortage by providing up to NT$13,000 in monthly subsidies to new employees in severely short-staffed industries.
The project is expected to cost NT$1 billion and is estimated to help 20,000 people find work.
According to the Key Points for Trialing the Special Subsidized Employment Project to Alleviate the Labor Shortage (專案缺工就業獎勵試辦實施要點), those working full-time at “short-staffed positions” are eligible for a monthly subsidy of NT$6,000.
Elderly people, people with disabilities, indigenous people, people who have not worked for an extended period or women re-entering the work force would qualify for a larger subsidy of NT$10,000.
People working full-time in remote areas or outlying islands would be entitled to an additional NT$3,000.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS