TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwanese Cabinet's Gender Equality Committee (GEC) said Sunday (March 8) that women account for 41.59 percent of lawmakers in Taiwan, the most among all the countries in Asia.

According to statistics provided by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), more than 40 percent of the members of the country's 10th legislature are female. The GEC said that Taiwan has the 16th highest percentage of female lawmakers in the world and even surpasses Switzerland, which was ranked first in the latest gender equality assessment by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The GHC pointed out that close to 43 percent of Taiwanese companies have female supervisors and that the gender wage gap has also narrowed since last year. In addition, the committee noted that the labor force participation rate for Taiwanese women ages 35-39 has passed the 80 percent mark for the first time in history, reported Liberty Times.

During a press interview, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) noted that Sunday is International Women's Day and thanked all the women of Taiwan for their contributions to their families and the country. He emphasized that many female medical workers have played a monumental role in Taiwan's epidemic prevention efforts against the coronavirus and sacrificed much of their time and energy.

Despite recent improvements, Su said that many women are still being treated unfairly at the workplace. He hopes that the government will continue to look after its female citizens and that Taiwan can achieve a gender-balanced society, reported CNA.