September 18 is International Equal Pay Day, which celebrates the fight to achieve equal pay for equal work. Yet a new survey conducted by Taiwan's government reveals a persistent gender pay gap despite an overall increase in the average wage.
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00:00It is International Equal Pay Day, aimed at eliminating economic gender inequality.
00:05But new government figures in Taiwan reveal a persistent gap in what men and women are paid.
00:10Salaries have risen on average by 2.6 percent since the beginning of this year.
00:15But many women say the growth has not benefited them.
00:30It has become less and less good.
00:32A recent government survey revealed that overall wage growth this year was the highest in four years.
00:37The median monthly salary in Taiwan now stands at slightly over 1,160 U.S. dollars.
00:43For men, it's over 1,210 U.S. dollars per month.
00:47But for women, that figure is less than 1,100 U.S. dollars per month, a difference of over 9 percent.
00:54Some say there is a gap in earnings because many industries are split along gender lines.
00:59In high-tech industries, there are more male employees.
01:03In low-tech industries, there are more female employees.
01:07Naturally, there is a significant gap in the salary of men and women.
01:11Gender equality activists say women face systemic obstacles in the workforce.
01:15One of those is the societal expectation for them to be the primary caregiver in a family.
01:21This leads many women to work in the informal economy or freelance.
01:25Most non-typical laborers are more flexible.
01:29But their wages are not as good.
01:33So you can see that some women's economic ability is worse than that of men
01:41because our gender role division is still very obvious.
01:44And as gender roles persist in Taiwan, the worry is that so will the gender pay gap,
01:50despite the country's growing wages,
01:52highlighting an ongoing fight in Taiwan and across the world to achieve equal pay for equal work.
01:58Ryan Wu and Wessie Lewis for Taiwan Plus.