These five women from Taiwan are smashing the glass ceiling with their boundary-breaking startups
Taiwan is pioneering the way for gender parity in Asia. Taiwan’s first female president, Tsai Ing-wen, comfortably won re-election in January—and her ascent to the territory's highest office has had transformative effects on the island's gender norms.
The margin by which Tsai won—with a landslide 57 percent vote share—demonstrates Taiwan's willingness to embrace more progressive gender norms compared with some of its neighbours. This is also reflected in the high numbers of female entrepreneurs in Taiwan. Since 2018, the gender gap between female and male entrepreneurs has narrowed considerably, with a reported 53 percent increase in women’s entrepreneurial activity.
Tsai's role in redressing gender inequality goes beyond that of a figurehead. Her re-election manifesto placed the issue front and centre. Her party's long-term care plan 2.0, for example, advocates for the government to take a larger role in caring for the elderly, freeing more women to enter the workforce.
Measures such as this have contributed to Taiwan's ranking as the 6th best market globally for women entrepreneurs, and the best in Asia, according to the Mastercard Index 2019. The report highlights that this is likely due to social norms that “grant women fair opportunities to rise as business leaders, gain tertiary education and to be perceived and accepted as successful entrepreneurs.”
Here are five women entrepreneurs from the Gen.T List who are helping to abolish traditional gender roles in Taiwan.
CC Chang
CC Chang is the co-founder of FunNow, an app that allows users to book entertainment and leisure services at the last minute. Unlike competitors such as Eric Gnock Fah's Klook, which is aimed predominantly at tourists, FunNow targets locals who want to find something fun to do in their own city. The app gained 600,000 users within three years and tripled its number of user interactions in 2018.
