Gender and Communication: A Study on the Career Choices of Taiwanese Women

Abstract

Thanks to the universal nature of Taiwan’s education, women have accounted for half of all university graduates since 1995. Women are therefore equally competent and well-trained, but Taiwan still suffers from a significant gender pay gap, and women tend to occupy lower-level positions or even leave the workplace altogether - a loss both to these women as individuals and the Taiwanese economy as a whole. This study attempts to: (1) Introduce interpersonal communication as an important variable in understanding the socialization of women and their career choices； (2) Explore the impact of culture and communication on Taiwanese women in order to assess the impact of the father as the ‘opinion leader’ when women make career decisions; assess the extent to which Taiwan can be regarded as a patriarchal society. The study concludes: (1) Taiwanese women’s traditional role in the family rarely conflicts with their own expectations for their future, meaning that they are unable or find it difficult to change their status. (2) Fathers are the ‘opinion leaders’ in women’s career decisions. Regardless of whether the father is controlling or emotionally distant, they have very low expectations for their daughters, causing women to feel lost and ignored. (3) Taiwanese women tend to occupy low-level positions because they lack clear life goals.