HONG KONG, March 7 (Xinhuanet) -- A survey showed that the number of the employed women in Taiwan rose to 4.19 million in 2005 from 3.91 million in 2002, marking a 7.2 percent growth in the four-year period, according to a report reaching here from Taipei on Tuesday.

    The survey was conducted by a local labor affairs organization in last December to better understand the job market situation after a local gender equality regulation took effect at the beginning of 2002.

    The organization sent questionnaires to local companies that have joined the national labor insurance program. A total of 4,149 valid samples were collected.

    Over the past four years, the survey further found, the ratio of female corporate managers rose from 14.6 percent in 2002 to 16.5 percent in 2005.

    The female population growth also helped expand women's labor participation rate, rising from 46.59 percent in 2002 to 48.12 percent in 2005, according to the survey.

    Meanwhile, the survey found that the women's unemployment rate slid an average of 0.22 percent in the four years after the enforcement of the workplace gender equality regulation.

    The figures indicated that the law has not resulted in a decrease in jobs available for women as previously feared, officials of the organization said. Enditem