Taiwanese Women In and Out of the Workforce: Perceptions of Working Mothers and Their Roles

This thesis explores how Taiwanese citizens perceive women in the workforce and at home, with a specific focus on how working mothers in Taiwan are perceived. The first section provides a literature review of perceptions of women in and out of the workforce in Taiwan and how policies surrounding maternity leave and breastfeeding can impact these perceptions. The second section will detail the findings of an original survey that asks the Taiwanese respondents their opinions regarding women in the workforce, division of labor in the home, breastfeeding, and gender roles. The data shows that there may be a greater level of acceptance of working women and mothers than previously believed; however, there could also be other factors at play, such as heightened awareness of women\u27s struggles, which could result in people giving more socially acceptable answers. Looking at work done in the house, it can be concluded that women may still be expected to do more housework while also doing the same amount of work outside of the home as men