Women’s Movements and Women in the Policy-making System

Abstract

Gender inequality has existed in Chinese society for over 2000 years, but women hardly ever questioned this situation until the twentieth century. Emerging in the 1970s, the civil women’s movement in Taiwan has challenged gender regimes as well as women’s policies. This chapter will review women’s collective action and women’s organizations after the establishment of the Republic of China, and focus on the history since the 1970s. As far as women’s movements in Taiwan are concerned, there are two kinds of women’s movements, which will be discussed individually, official women’s activities and civil women’s movements. In addition, we shall observe women’s power in politics and the extent to which women’s groups have access to the policy-making process.