No More Virtual Communities – Strong Linkages of Flexible Working Women on the Net into the Practice of Everyday Life

Chen MC¹*

1. Humboldt Universitaet zu Berlin, Germany

The critical roles of flexible working women in Taiwan have often been underemphasized as the secondary domain of labour market in the past decades. With the rapid developments of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) around the world, nowadays many ICT related and qualified female white-clerical workers tend to take their priority to choose another much more flexible styles of working and living as digital workers in order to have more flexibility to be at home and so to have a good chance to be a perfect wife or a good mother. Even though the company welfares and employment legislation for flexible digital workers in Taiwan are not completely established yet.

Women Awakening Foundation (WAF), which is established in 1987 and Small Office Home Office Association (SOHO Association), which is established in1999 are playing important roles for flexible working women to tie up strong linkages around Taiwan. The flexible working women are not only sharing their working emotions and living feelings on the net, but also walking through the virtual internet communities into the real communities and the practice of everyday life. Moreover, they create a better environment for families in Taiwan, for example: sharing their loading of work and housework, raising and educating little or young children, or nursing elderly or ill relatives and so on. Most important of all, they have arise the public awareness of women’s issues, to fight for women’s rights, and to improve the social conditions of all women.

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