导读:本周五，蔡英文将就职成为台湾首位女总统。
It has never been a burning ambition of the cat-loving former law professor to be president, and she is virtually unique among East Asia’s female leaders.
蔡英文从未如此渴望成为台湾总统，而事实上在亚洲的女性领导人中，她也是独一无二的。
Many of Taiwan’s female politicians, including former Vice President Annette Lu, Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu, and chair of the Kuomintang party Hung Hsiu-chu, rose to powerful positions without having come from a political family. They have largely made it on their own.
许多台湾的女性政治人物并没有显赫的政治世家背景，例如前副总统吕秀莲，高雄市市张陈楚和国民党主席洪秀柱。她们是依靠自己达到现在的地位的。
Women also shine in Taiwan’s parliament. The island’s women legislators are even seen leading the charge in Taiwan’s infamous parliament scuffles.
女性还活跃在台湾的议会上。台湾的女议员甚至领导了臭名昭著的议会混战。
Following January elections, it now has a record percentage of women legislators at 38%, putting Taiwan far ahead of Asian countries, the international average of 22%, and most nations, including the UK, Germany, and the US.
经过一月份的大选过后，台湾女性议员的比例创纪录地达到了38%，而国际平均水平只有22%。台湾成为亚洲女性政治参与最活跃地区，也领先于包括英国、德国和美国在内的大多数国家。
So why are only four of Ms Tsai’s 40 Cabinet members women?
那么，为什么蔡英文多达40人的内阁中，只有4名女性呢？
The Cabinet spokesman blamed it on a dearth of experienced women in her party because it has been out of power for so many years. But he did admit that some women had turned down the offer of a job at the top table.
内阁发言人表示，由于民进党多年未曾执政，党内缺少有经验的女性。但是他也承认说，一些女性拒绝了在内阁任职的邀请。
One of them, 65-year-old Ho Mei-yueh, a former economics minister, told me she had devoted 33 years of her life to government, putting her own needs second while also raising a family. She just wants some time to herself now. It’s the perennial question of a work-life balance for many women.
例如，前经济部长、65岁的何美玥，她曾在政府部门任职33年，把自己的需求放在第二位，同时还要抚养一个家庭。她说她现在需要一些属于自己的时间。对于许多女性来说，工作和生活的平衡一直以来都是困扰她们的问题。
Still, it is so natural in Taiwan to see women in politics that little fuss has been made about Ms Tsai’s gender.
在台湾，女性参与政治是如此的普遍，以至于没有多少人会因为蔡英文总统是女人而大惊小怪。
But take a closer look and it’s clear that quotas are behind the relatively high percentages of Taiwanese women in politics. They stipulate that women must get half the "at-large" seats in the legislature and one out of every four seats in electoral districts in local council elections.
但是仔细看一看，相较于台湾较高的女性政治参与比例来说，很显然女性的配额是较低的。他们规定女性在立法部最多只能得到一半的席位，在选区议会选举中只能得到四分之一的席位。
What has also helped was a commitment to women’s representation even in the early decades of the Republic of China’s existence, a history of women’s activism, as well as a society with many highly educated and professional women able to take up positions of leadership, scholars say.
有学者说，目前台湾女性在政治上高度活跃，很大程度上归功于早在民国时期政府对女性参与政治的承诺。在那个时期，女性十分活跃，许多受过高等教育、有专业知识的女性能够获得社会中的领导地位。
Taiwan is leagues ahead of other places, but it’s worth noting that none of the top four female political figures in Taiwan are married or have children.
（在女性政治参与方面，）台湾领先于其他地方。但是值得注意的是，蔡英文内阁中的四位女性成员都没有结婚、也没有子女。
