性別視角與平等研究—當代台灣外籍女性的社會經驗

Abstract

本論文旨在從外國女性的視角來探討台灣社會中的性別平等議題。自進入新世紀以來，台灣政府在許多非政府女權組織和學者的協助下，積極推動性別平等政策，致力於打造性別友善的社會環境、台灣在性別平等表現方面已成為亞洲之首。台灣政府把《消除對婦女一切形式歧視公約》CEDAW和性別主流化等跨國策略納入了國内政策，亦將打造性別平等的社會定為主要目標之一。此外，台灣政府亦推動多項措施吸引更多外國人士及外國學生，促進多元化和國際化的社會環境。隨著在台的外國女性日益漸增，他們日常生活的經驗所反應出性別平等的狀況也愈發重要。因此，外國女性在日常生活中體驗到的性別平等成為一個重要的議題。本研究藉由訪談的方式對15名在台灣居住超過六個月的外國女行進行調查。透過分析他們日常的性別經驗，歸納出三個主題分別是：性別安全感、社會性別角色和政府參與。數據分析顯示，外國女性認為台灣的生活環境給予他們更多的安全感，這不但增強外國女性的自信和自我探索能力，更進一步增強她們的賦權。但數據也顯示，台灣社會中的傳統性別觀念與規範，對外國女性性別認同造成負面的影響，或將阻礙性別平等的進步。最後，數據也揭露外國女性缺乏對於性別平等衡量指標及維權方面的相關知識，反映出台灣政府缺乏對於這方面的推動。而本研究中提出一系列性別主流化工具以解決台灣社會正面臨的困境。現代台灣社會與政治研究中有許多關於性別平等及婦女權利的議題，其中雖然也包含了在台灣當照顧者的外籍女性，但從未提及他們的社會性別經驗與角色。為了提升性別議題在台灣的多元與包容，本研究及當中的數據皆可為此提供一個嶄新的研究方向。This thesis is aimed to discuss Taiwanese societal gender equality through the perspectives of foreign women. Since the beginning of the new millennium, Taiwanese government has been developing a gender-friendly environment through gender equality policies with the assistance of several feminist NGOs and scholars; as a result of such great efforts, Taiwan became the 1st in Asia on gender equality. By integrating transnational policies such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and gender mainstreaming into their policymaking, Taiwanese government is emphasizing a gender-equal society as one of their key goals. Moreover, the Taiwanese government is cultivating a more diverse and international setting by welcoming expats and foreign students through several initiatives. Therefore, the gender equality foreign women experience in their daily lives becomes an important topic.To gather data, fifteen foreign women living in Taiwan for more than six months were contacted. Conducting an analysis of their daily gender experiences, several themes foreign women were affected in various ways merged; gender safety, societal gender roles, and gaps in promoting gender equality measures. The data analysis indicated foreign women feel safer in Taiwan; this aspect contributed to foreign women’s feelings of self-assurance and exploration of self, playing a direct role in empowering them. However data also suggested, traditional ideas and norms performed by Taiwanese society influenced foreign women’s idea of gender identity, therefore potentially resulting in regression in the societal gender equality state. Lastly, data also revealed that foreign women are not aware of gender equality measurements and means of protecting their rights, this result indicates the Taiwanese government’s insufficient promotion of gender equality measurements. It was proposed implementation of a range of gender mainstreaming tools would provide a solution.Gender equality and issues concerning women’s rights have been discussed by numerous experts; foreign women caretakers in Taiwan were the focus of some studies as well. However, the societal gender experiences of foreign women were never discussed before. This study and data it provides offer an alternative method to explore gender issues in Taiwan.