President Ma Ying-jeou honored Ten Outstanding Young Women on Sunday, which is International Women’s Day.
The president said that Taiwanese women surpass their male counterparts in number, life expectancy and educational level. He said that gender inequality was gradually disappearing, and that the government was actively working towards that goal.
President Ma said that in 2013, the United Nations’ gender inequality index listed the Republic of China on Taiwan as having the best ranking in Asia, and the fifth best ranking in the world.
This year’s Ten Outstanding Young Women were selected from a pool of 114 women from various fields. A total of 231 women have received the distinction since the awards were first presented in 1966. This year’s honorees include tennis star Chan Yung-jan and indigenous film director Chen Chieh-yao among others.
President Ma said that he hoped these women could serve as future leaders in their respective fields, following in the footsteps of many of the past honorees.