Wednesday, November 8, 2017 from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
EVENT DESCRIPTION
In 2016, Taiwan elected its first woman as President, Tsai Ing-wen, accomplishing a milestone that many countries have yet to reach. Even more impressive was the fact that President Tsai did not come from a political family and did not ride to power on an inherited dynasty. Tsai’s election, coupled with Taiwan’s high rate of women representatives in the legislature, makes Taiwan an outlier in the world and especially in East Asia when it comes to gender equality in government. Taiwan’s success in incorporating women in government might lead one to conclude that gender parity in the country has been achieved. However, upon closer examination, there are many realms in which women struggle for equality and justice in Taiwanese society. To better understand the dynamics of gender in in Taiwan, the Global Taiwan Institute is hosting the event Women and Leadership in Taiwan on November 8, as part of its Civil Society and Democracy series, partially funded by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. GTI is happy to invite Jane Shih, managing director of Girls in Tech Taiwan, to Washington D.C. to speak on the technology and business sector. Also joining the panel are Iris Shaw from TECRO, who will speak on Taiwan’s policies regarding gender equality and her own work on women’s empowerment.
Doors will open at 11:30. A light lunch will be served, and the event will begin at 12:00.Kindly RSVP by November 6. Please direct questions or concerns to abell@globaltaiwan.org.
**Media: Please contact Anna Scott Bell at abell@globaltaiwan.org if you would like to bring additional crew members or equipment, so that we can be sure to accommodate you.
PANELISTS
Iris Shaw works at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), serving as liaison to the US Congress. Iris previously served as senior associate of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party’s Mission in the United States since its inception in 2013. From 2011 to 2013, Iris worked as program director of the Formosa Foundation in Los Angeles, focusing on Congressional advocacy, training programs, and media campaigns. Iris served as a foreign policy counselor in the Executive Office of the Vice President of Taiwan from 2005 to 2008, where she worked closely with Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies to enhance Taiwan’s global standing and participation in international organizations. She also worked as a journalist for Commonwealth Magazine, covering Taiwan’s high-tech industries. Iris received her Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University. She received her BA in Foreign Language and Literature and an M.A. in Journalism from National Taiwan University.
Jane Shih founded her company WeTogether.co at the end of 2014, a networking platform for technology professionals. Her passion is women in technology. In 2015, understanding how important it is for women to join and grow in the tech industry, she launched Taipei Women in Technology and set up local chapters for a few international NPOs related to Women in Tech and Entrepreneurship. She’s now the Managing Director of Girls in Tech Taiwan, City Director of Ladies that UX Taipei and Women Who Code Taipei with 4000+ active members across the various communities.
The Civil Society and Democracy series will continue throughout the year and focus on various topics relating to Taiwan’s democracy and human rights. The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy is a non-profit, non-partisan organization and is the first national democracy assistance foundation to be established in Asia, and is devoted to strengthening democracy and human rights in Taiwan and abroad.