Women's growing economic power and changing views of marriage are affecting the dynamics of family life.

Ji Guan-ling, the head of Warm Life Association for Women, has noticed that more and more women who come to Warm Life ask the same question--"Why do I have to do all the household chores when I work full-time just as my husband does?"

As more opportunities become available to Taiwanese women through higher education, financial independence and greater social space, many are reconsidering the role of marriage in their private lives. More women want more equality in a marriage relationship, and if they cannot get it they are choosing to remain single, get married later in life, or leave unhappy marriages.

The principle of gender equality--equal rights for men and women, regardless of gender--has been gradually taking root in Taiwanese society. Women are not only asking for equal opportunities at work, but equal responsibilities in marriage and at home. Ji says that, for many women, paid employment offers economic benefits and respect in the workplace, yet nothing but the same old chores at home. In this situation, it is only natural that many women today are reluctant to tie the knot, she says.

Traditionally, a woman's role as "homemaker" has been reinforced by a strong family structure, Ji says. "In modern society, the [traditional] structure of the family is loosening; now women often have to work outside the home to support the family."

Though women's average earnings still lag behind men's, women are catching up at a slow, but noticeable pace. According to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), Taiwanese women in the service industry earned on average 78 percent of men's earnings in 2005, an increase of 8 percent since 1995. The trend is found across many other occupational sectors as well, including retail, real estate, finance and insurance, publishing and advertising.

This new economic power is affecting the dynamics of family life. Women's new identity as family breadwinners empowers them to ask for more out of marriage, Ji says. "One has to have money to gain power in marriage," she says.