Source: The 2019 Statistical Yearbook of Civil Service compiled by the Ministry of Civil Service, and 2021 Gender at a Glance compiled by the Department of Gender Equality of the Executive Yuan 31. The NHRC is deeply concerned about long-term problems that women with disabilities are exposed to, such as low labor force participation rates, high unemployment rates, and low wages.17 These problems lead to a lack of financial security and increased poverty among women with disabilities. Routine surveys conducted by the Ministry of Labor (hereinafter referred to as the MOL) have shown that the percentage of women with disabilities who are not in the labor market for reasons such as “housekeeping” and “family care” does not differ significantly from that of the female population as a whole. However, the NHRC contends that the ministry assumes the employment challenges faced by women with disabilities are identical to those of non-disabled women. Additionally, the NHRC would argue that the ministry has not thoroughly investigated underlying factors that contribute to the differences in housekeeping and family care between women with disabilities and their non-disabled counterpart. And the ministry has not explored the problem of unsatisfying jobs and lower income for women with disabilities, which may be due to employers’ unwillingness to hire women with disabilities, employers’ stereotypes towards women with disabilities, lower educational levels resulting in reduced employability for women with disabilities, or limited job choices. To date, such information remains lacking, highlighting the ministry’s lack of attention to the employment challenges faced by women with disabilities as well as lack of affirmative action. The NHRC recommends that the ministry conduct in-depth surveys and research to collect statistical data on the employment of women with disabilities, formulate employment support 17 According to the 2021 Gender at a Glance compiled by the Department of Gender Equality of the Executive Yuan, in 2019, the participation rate of women with disabilities in the labor force was 14.7%. This number was higher than in 2016 (14.1%) but still drastically lower than among males (67.3%), females (51.4%), and men with disabilities (25.5%). Additionally, the monthly salary or wages of employed women with disabilities barely reached the minimum wage. Although the percentage of women with disabilities who were not in the labor market for reasons such as “housekeeping” and “family care” (67.9%) did not differ significantly from the female population as a whole (65.1%), the former had an unemployment rate of 8.1%, which was considerably higher than that of the female population as a whole (3.6%) and other female groups. The monthly earnings of female employees with disabilities were NT$25,046, only as much as basic wage and substantially lower than the earnings of ordinary female employees (NT$35,954). Finally, according to a survey conducted by the MOL, in 2016, 12.63% of women with disabilities could not work for family reasons, which was 7.88% higher than the percentage of men with disabilities. 24