President Tsai Ing-wen kicked-off Taiwan Gender Equality Week at Women’s Power Night on International Women's Day. In her remarks, she stated that the events to come this week will focus on women and climate actions, giving us a chance to share Taiwan's progress in promoting gender equality and climate justice, and also in recognition of the incredible accomplishments and contributions of women in Taiwan and around the globe.
President Tsai emphasized that it is her duty as president to promote women's empowerment both at home and abroad, and she looks forward to the day that phrases like "female president" and "women president" to become something in the past. Taiwan always stands on the forefront of promoting gender equality and women empowerment as Taiwan ranks 6th of the 163 countries in the world in overall gender equality, and first in Asia.
Ambassador Jasmine Huggins of St. Kitts and Nevis also gave her remarks. She talked about women's indispensable role in global development and the essential role of gender equality to the sustainable development agenda. For example, women make up 43% of the global agriculture labor force in developing countries, and the agriculture sector is underperforming because of the many constraints posed on women. She indicated that gender equality fosters economic growth, economic growth impacts sustainable development. The link between gender equality and sustainable development is inescapable and obvious.
