Taipei: More than 40 percent of legislative seats in Taiwan were held by women in 2024, the highest proportion of any country in Asia, according to the Taiwanese government’s latest report on gender equality. Taiwan also ranked sixth globally and first in Asia in 2023 in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI).

According to Focus Taiwan, these achievements were highlighted in the Executive Yuan’s fifth report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Gender-violence prevention has also been strengthened in the past few years through the Stalking and Harassment Prevention Act, the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, among other legislation.

The Executive Yuan’s Department of Gender Equality stated that Minister without Portfolio Lin Ming-hsin chaired a meeting on Nov. 25 that approved the CEDAW report. The report outlines Taiwan’s progress on women’s rights and gender equality from 2021 to 2024.

Taiwan enacted the Enforcement Act of Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 2011 and implemented it in 2012, giving CEDAW domestic legal force and requiring a national report every four years. Earlier reports were issued in 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021.

Although Taiwan is not a United Nations member, the review meeting for the CEDAW report follows procedures used by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Five international experts will visit Taiwan in July 2026 to assess the latest report and offer recommendations. Taiwanese experts and civil society groups will also participate.

The full report has been published in Chinese on the website of the Executive Yuan’s Gender Equality Committee.