Structural Influential Factors on Taiwan Females Participation in Politics

This research is to explore the structural factors of Taiwanese women’s participation in grassroots politics, especially to substantively present the complex local structure and context of female participation in the local grassroots elections in those cities and counties where Hakka ethnic groups clustered.

It presents stark difference with local features in Taiwan women’s participation for different county (city) councilors elections. To analyze their participation in politics, neither can we ignore gender viewpoints, nor can we alienate ourselves from local situational context, especially those kinship, social clubs, networks, ethnic, local fictions, political families, association of farmers, fisherman and irrigation, and political parties of different areas. How to interact with different genders as to influence Taiwan women’s local participation in politics, all of which is the key point this research is to explore. 

In Taiwan, the key political tune set in major cities and counties where three Hakka ethnic groups clustered is first on geographical concept, then kinship and the last political party. Lineal kins and tribes primarily inherited by men, what if women’s political participation doesn’t represent lineal kins and kiths, will it represent gender or ethnic group? or anything else? What specific social connotation with these women participating local election? This study is mainly to explore the positioning in women’s political participation, which is used exactly to answer the questions listed above.