Life in Organizations: The Case of Women in Taiwan

Little is known to the Asian and Western readers about Taiwanese women's life in organizations. This paper is an attempt to narrow the gap by sketching women's work life in Taiwan. Traditionally, women are a secondary gender in Chinese society. However, gender differences may be narrowing because Taiwan has operated a capitalistic system in the past decades. In this paper, we summarized results from a few domestic studies with an emphasis on women in organizations, and present the findings of two surveys we conducted. Our analysis indicates that (1) gender idiosyncrasy is becoming less pronounced, particularly for those men and women who experience similar organization socialization; (2) gender stereotypes may be a barrier or a facilitator for women's career development; and (3) while performing organizational citizenship behaviors, women appear more as good colleagues, but less as good soldiers. We hope this study will further our understanding of Taiwanese women's life in organizations and eventually help democratize the work culture in Taiwan in a new era.