Article 6: Women with Disabilities
With regard to the multiple and intersectional discrimination faced by women with disabilities in public and private sectors, no comprehensive plan has been put forth by our government to improve the current situation. There has been no extensive data or survey statistics compiled to date to reflect, specifically, the difficult conditions in which women with disabilities are subjected to. In addition, there is a lack of gender perspective in the current government legislation pertaining to the rights of persons with disabilities. Finally, different departments and agencies are separately responsible for varying issues including but not limited to: gender equality, women's welfare, people with physical and mental disabilities, social security, education, employment, medical care, justice, resulting in a lack of information sharing and resource integration.
It is recommended that the following actions be taken:
Implementing data collection and research to present accurate statistics pertaining to the kinds and types of discrimination women with disabilities face;
Improving communication between authorities and agencies to allow better integration of human resource and resource sharing, so as to propose and fully implement a comprehensive plan for the protection of the rights of women with disabilities by involving all stakeholders including government agencies, civil society and women with disabilities in the process;
Devising future courses and workshops on human rights education for all civil servants.
In response to Paragraph 20 of the State Report: Globally, one in ten people are considered as Persons with Disabilities (UN Women Watch, 2016), of which 51% are women (Disability Awareness in Action, 2015). Compared to developed countries such as Sweden where Persons with Disabilities account for 16% of the total population, ours is significantly lower at 5%. While the population of women in our country aged 30 and above outnumbers that of men, the number of women with disabilities at all age groups is lower than that of men with disabilities. This phenomenon differs from trends seen globally. For example, in Sweden the population of women with disabilities outnumber that of men with disabilities. It begs the question: Do these statistics accurately reflect actual numbers or are they a gross underestimation? Perhaps it can be attributed to the fact that Taiwan’s definition for Persons with Disabilities deviate from the norm. It is recommended that more studies be conducted to ascertain the cause of this phenomenon.
The Gender Equality Policy Guidelines, enacted by the administration in December 2011 and amended in January 2017, serves as the fundamental premise for programs and policies pertaining to issues of gender equality in our country. However, we are concerned that the Guidelines do not adequately address and protect the rights of women with disabilities. Firstly, there was no consultation or involvement of bodies representing women with disabilities during the various phases of development, implementation and revision of the Guidelines. Moreover, while the proposal did raise the subject of women with disabilities and the disadvantages they deal with in their private and public lives, it was sorely lacking in concrete measures and action plans to counter the problem.
The employment rate of women with disabilities in Taiwan is 11.8%, well below that of men with disabilities (22%) and women in the general population (48.7%). In addition, 23.5% of unemployed women with disabilities reportedly suffer discrimination and unfair treatment, a percentage that is higher than that of their male counterparts (15.1%). In the Gender Mainstreaming Executive Plan of 2014-2017, the Ministry of Labor pledged to provide and/or create 1,500 jobs for women with disabilities each year, but there is no statistic available indicating how many women with disabilities who have successfully entered the workforce through the scheme. The report also stated that the Ministry planned to increase vocational courses and training rates amongst women with disabilities from 48% to 48.5%. It is unclear whether these schemes have been effective in improving employment and training rates in women with disabilities. In addition, the government has not provided appropriate resources and assistance to women with disabilities whose obligated duties in the home hinder their active participation in training and return to the workforce.
It is recommended that the following actions be taken to improve the employment rate of women with disabilities:
Undertaking effective measures such as reviewing quota systems in the workplace, encouraging job redesign to better accommodate the characteristics of people with disabilities, and providing access to vocational training and jobmatch service.
Women with disabilities have lower levels of education: According to the 2011 Assessment Report on the Living Conditions and Needs of women with disabilities, the illiteracy rate amongst women with disabilities is 26.43% (compared to 7.35% for men with disabilities). In contrast, while 38.7% of the general population aged 15 and over possess college and above qualifications, only 11.12% of People with Disabilities possess similar qualifications; with women with disabilities at 7.3% and Men with Disabilities at 13.99%.
The current regulations and policies have not adequately addressed the problems of low school attendance rates amongst women with disabilities and gender inequality in education. As the State Report and the annexed Table 6.2 indicate, during the academic period of 2011-2015, the average enrollment of women with disability in all levels of education was 32.92%, a number that is significantly lower than that of men with disability (67.08%). If the Government argues that there is sufficient legislation and support systems available to ensure that the discrimination barriers have been removed, why is there no significant improvement in education statistics of women with disabilities during those academic years?
To ensure that women with disabilities enjoy equal rights to education, we recommend that the government commission a comprehensive and in-depth survey to better understand and determine the barriers to education they face. This includes survey statistics of women who receive other forms of education (for example home education) and impact assessments of social prejudice, gender roles and stereotypes, accessibility disparities between urban and rural areas, sexual violence/abuse and personal safety, and the lack of a barrier-free and gender-sensitive infrastructure.
In recent years, while the government has actively promoted the one-third gender principle to executive committees from various organizations in order to increase women representation in all areas of governance, women with disabilities remain sidelined. Specific requests were made in the Gender Equality Policy Guidelines for all relevant parties, including the gender equality task force, the Municipal Women's Rights Council and gender equality advocacy groups, to increase the representation and participation in governance and policy-making of women and LGBTQ people who are from the indigenous group, new immigrants, in older age, with disabilities, in employment and from the agricultural and remote areas. However, with the exception of activist groups for women of disabilities, there remains little to no representation of women with disabilities in the offices of the central government and municipal councils and even organizations representing equal rights for women. There are regretfully no seats in our current legislative council who represent the interests of women with disabilities.
We recommend that the government consult the CRPD, as well as the General Comments and the "Incheon Strategy"3 presented by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCCAP) in 2012 to develop incentives and/or action plans encouraging active participation of women with disabilities in areas of policy-making and legislation.
- United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), 2012, “Incheon Strategy to ‘Make the Right Real’ for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific”.
<li><p>Analyzing and determining the barriers present to women with disabilities who are seeking gainful employment and implementing effective measures to improve the situation.</p></li> </ol></li> </ol>
Barriers to education due to gender inequality amongst Persons with Disabilities （In response to Paragraphs 24 and 25 of the State Report）
Insufficient opportunities for women with disabilities to participate in policy-making (in response to Paragraphs 21 and 26 of the State Report)