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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Female role in Taiwanese politics unique: AIT head
American Institute in Taiwan （AIT） Director Brent Christensen, middle row third left, former US representative Pat Schroeder, middle row, fourth left, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Tsao, middle row fourth right, yesterday attend the opening ceremony of the three-day workshop “Achieving 50-50: Empowering Women Leaders in the Indo-Pacific Region” in Taipei. Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
TRAILBLAZER: The US has much to learn from Taiwan, where nearly 40% of lawmakers are women, a former US lawmaker told an international forum on female leadership
/ Staff writer, with CNA
Taking President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） as an example, American Institute in Taiwan （AIT） Director Brent Christensen yesterday lauded Taiwan as a leader on women’s empowerment in politics.
“Not only does Taiwan currently have a woman serving as its president, Dr Tsai Ing-wen, but nearly 40 percent of Taiwan’s legislators are women,” Christensen said at the opening ceremony of a women’s leadership and empowerment workshop.
Taiwanese voters chose women to head seven of its 22 counties and municipalities, and elected women to fill 33.8 percent of the city and county council seats in the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections, he added.
Such female empowerment has a long tradition, he said, adding that nearly 20 years ago, Taiwan elected a woman to the vice presidency, referring to Annette Lu （呂秀蓮） in the first Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） administration from 2000 to 2008.
“Few countries in the Indo-Pacific region, or worldwide for that matter, can claim to have achieved as much as Taiwan has toward the important goal of more equal representation between men and women in leadership positions,” Christensen said.
That is why 30 participants from 14 countries are to share their experiences with female leaders in Taiwan during the three-day workshop under the US-Taiwan Global Cooperation and Training Framework （GCTF）, he said.
The opening ceremony of the workshop, themed “Achieving 50-50: Empowering Women Leaders in the Indo-Pacific Region,” was also attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and former ambassador to Panama Miguel Tsao （曹立傑）, and former US representative Pat Schroeder.
In her keynote speech, Schroeder, who in 1973 became the first female US representative elected in Colorado and blazed a trail for a new generation of women on Capitol Hill, encouraged more women to engage in the equal rights movement, especially in politics.
The US has a long way to go and much to learn from Taiwan given that the US is ranked 89th in terms of the representation of women in national legislatures, she said.
Schroeder said she thought that after former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton lost her run at the presidency, it would discourage women from taking part in politics, but there is now an ongoing “Pink Wave” in the US with a record number of women heading to Congress.
The workshop includes presentations, “wide-ranging discussions” and essential measures to be taken to increase the participation and representation of women in private and public organizations.
Since the establishment of the GCTF in 2015, Taiwan and the US have brought together experts, government officials and civic leaders from more than two dozen countries for 14 workshops on public health, women’s empowerment, media literacy, law enforcement and the digital economy, among other topics.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
