Taiwan: IBA report on gender disparity in law shows women are underrepresented in senior roles
The latest research by the International Bar Association (IBA) Legal Policy & Research Unit (LPRU) into gender disparity in the law across the world is focused on Taiwan. The findings reveal that women are underrepresented at the top of the profession in the jurisdiction's law firms, despite there being an approximately equal gender split at the junior level.
The 50:50 by 2030: A longitudinal study into gender disparity in law – Taiwan Results Report is the 12th country-specific report in a global project to be released by the IBA in collaboration with the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation. It was produced with the assistance of the Taipei Bar Association (TBA) following the completion of a survey undertaken in 2024.
Chih-peng Chang, TBA President and Yuan-Yao Chung, TBA Executive Director, commented in the report’s foreword: ‘In Taiwan, the number of female legal professionals is roughly equivalent to that of males, indicating that we have no shortage of emerging female legal professionals. However, we cannot deny that compared to men, women face more challenges in career development. Research from various countries shows that employment ratios, salaries and benefits, and career development among genders are closely related to gender-friendly policies in the workplace. Therefore, we hope to gain a preliminary understanding of gender equality in Taiwan's legal profession by analysing the gender ratio at various stages of legal professionals' careers and the implementation of gender-friendly policies in the workplace.’
The foreword concludes with: ‘[W]e hope to obtain local survey results as a starting point for our focus on gender equality among legal professionals in Taiwan. We have shared these Taiwan survey results with the IBA, contributing to connecting Taiwan with the international community.’
Regarding the judiciary in Taiwan, overall – in district courts through to the Supreme Court – it appears to be approaching parity. However, the majority of senior judges are male, a trend reflected globally across the previous 11 jurisdictions surveyed by the IBA 50:50 by 2030: A longitudinal study into gender disparity in law project (Gender Project) to date and recorded in the Progress Report: with 43 per cent of all judges being female and 38 per cent holding senior positions.
In Taiwan’s public sector, while only prosecutors were surveyed, the trend again mirrored that found globally: although at the junior level parity is close to being achieved, the majority of senior prosecutors are male.
The most popular initiatives to promote gender balance overall for lawyers in Taiwan are flexible working arrangements and unconscious bias training. While flexible working proved popular in previously surveyed jurisdictions, unconscious bias training was not favoured elsewhere.
Background
The Gender Project examines gender disparity in senior roles across the legal profession – from private practice to in-house legal teams, public sector institutions and the judiciary. Unique in scope and duration, this nine-year global project aims to uncover the root causes of gender disparity at the top of the legal profession, and examine the impact of equality initiatives, to produce a blueprint for gender equality at all levels. To date, 12 reports have been released as part of the project: England and Wales, Uganda and Spain in 2022; followed by Nigeria, the Netherlands and Chile in 2023; and, in 2024, reports on the Republic of Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Ukraine, and Türkiye. In December 2024 the Progress Report was published, which compiled the results of the 11 reports that had been released up to December 2024, providing readers with an overview of 11 countries across five continents. Also published in 2024 was a complementary case study on Nepal produced in collaboration with DLA Piper's non-profit affiliate New Perimeter.
The IBA is grateful to the TBA for having undertaken this valuable study in Taiwan, and encourages other bars who may be interested in participating in the Gender Project to contact IBA LPRU Project Lawyer, Isla Tobin at isla.tobin@int-bar.org.
Phase 2 of the Gender Project was launched on International Women’s Day (8 March 2025). Click here for details.
ENDS
Contact: IBApressoffice@int-bar.org
Notes to the reader
- To download a PDF of 50:50 by 2030: A longitudinal study into gender disparity in law – TAIWAN RESULTS REPORT, click the below relevant link
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Click here for information on the IBA’s 50:50 by 2030 – A Longitudinal Study into Gender Disparity in Law project
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Click here for details of Phase 2 of the Gender Project.
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Click here to listen to the IBA’s Inspirational Legal Women podcast series.
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The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, it was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.
The IBA has considerable expertise in providing assistance to the global legal community, and through its global membership, it influences the development of international law reform and helps to shape the future of the legal profession throughout the world.
- Find the IBA on social media here:
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