Climate Change and Gender Inequality in Taiwan’s Green Industry: Why is Female Competency Development Mattered?

Purpose - In spite of the growing importance of Taiwanese green industry, most of employees who work in this industry in Taiwan are dominated by males. Only a few females are working in this industry and their wage is lower. This research is applying role congruity theory which explains why females share only a small portion in Taiwan’s green industry. This study addresses a research question, “How has the gender inequality and discrimination been reflected in the occupation structure of Taiwan’s green industry? How has this gender occupation structure influenced females in the green industry? Research design, data, and methodology - To find out the impact of gender role in the green industry, the dataset of the 2015 Taiwan Social Change Survey is used. Using STATA, t test has been implemented to address our research question with three hypotheses. Result -All of hypothesis were all supported. It is found there is a statistical difference in stereotypical thinking between female who work in the green industry and the non-green industry of Taiwan. The limited female representation in the green industry of Taiwan influences job matching and job satisfaction significantly. Conclusion - This study suggests the Taiwanese government should encourage STEM education for females and provide more relevant vocational education and training particularly for females competency development in the green industry. By providing vocational education and training to meet the skill needs of greener economy resilient to climate change, Taiwan s green industry will grow further and will overcome gender inequality and discrimination.