Tag Archives: Asia

Taiwan, The First Step To Achieve Marriage Equality In Asia

With Asia being the last continent where no country recognizes same-sex marriage, the pressure has been on to see which country will be the one to take the first step towards equality.

Recently the Taiwanese government has delivered great news and even the hope of marriage equality becoming a reality in Taiwan. The Government is currently working on 3 different bills, one of them even supporting marriage equality.

This progression on marriage equality can be partly attributed to the country’s new head of state, Tsai Ing-wen.

Ing-wen, the country’s first female head of state is one of the country’s many supporters of marriage equality, even sharing on Facebook:

Love should allow people to feel free, to feel equal and to feel strong.”

But this move towards marriage equality transcends Ing-Wen, with 80% of Taiwanese between 20 and 29 fully supporting marriage equality (you can check out a study conducted by a Taiwanese University right here).

But exactly why is Taiwan so progressive, compared to other Asian countries? Oddly enough, this could be connected with religion. While most of us are used to seeing religion being used as an argument against marriage equality, the majority of Taiwanese are Buddhists or follow traditional Chinese religions which do not oppose to marriage between two men or two women.

We should get more news on the Government’s decision in the upcoming months but we are hopeful Taiwan will grant its LGBTQ citizens the right and freedom to marry whomever they choose. We can even hope this strong position will pressure other Asian countries to take positive action on this issue.

According to Pride.com, ‘As of May 2016, 23 countries in Asia had placed a ban on same-sex sexual acts, and even more severe, 5 of those countries have anti-LGBT legislation set in place that could lead to the death penalty’.

Change is clearly not just needed but rather necessary.

Good luck Taiwan, stand on the right side of History as a progressive country that provides equal rights to all.

 

LGBT Workplace Index Looks to Promote Diversity in Hong Kong

While the topic of marriage equality may get most of the LGBT rights spotlight and while chants of ‘love is love!’ are practically deafening, many have expressed concern, stating that there are many more pressing matters.

One such matter is the topic of workplace equality. Not only do many countries fail to protect their LGBT worked from workplace discrimination, in many countries around the world it is still very much legal for LGBT workers just to be fired because of their identity.

This is an incredibly scary thought for those having to hide their identities for fear of being fired and something needs to be done. Now, the city of Hong Kong is picking up the mantel, introducing something that they call the ‘LGBT Workplace Index’.

Launched by Community Business, an NGO, the idea of the LGBT Workplace Index is to asses how business fair in terms of LGBT inclusivity. The index takes several factors into consideration including advocacy, diversity structure and if (and how) equal opportunities are offered to everybody.

Hong Kong businesses have until February, 2015 to submit entries and the idea is that following the cut off point, awards will be doled out to companies big and small which have done the most. Some awards include LGBT Network of the year, LGBT Inclusion Champion of the Year, and LGBT Executive Sponsor of the Year which will only be given to those with the highest marks.

The LGBT Workplace Index won’t just praise those who are doing well either, as according to LGBT activist Brian Leung it will also be “a great opportunity for LGBTI professionals and allies to get together to drive LGBTI inclusion forward in Asia”. Meanwhile, Community Business CEO Fern Ngai added that this will help “not only LGBTI, but in general a workplace environment that embraces diversity”.

Hopefully, by reassessing the index every two years, companies will have a chance to improve their score. In a 2011/12 LGBT Climate Study, 71% of LGBT employees said that they weren’t open about their sexualities so hopefully measures like this will allow for a more honest, open and inclusive workplace culture.