This thesis examines the role women have played and continue to play for greater democracy in South Korea and Taiwan. Tracing the roots of the democratisation movements from the struggles against Japanese colonialism at the turn of the 20 century to the emergence of the resistance against military dictatorships in the 1960s, and the women workers' movements of the 1970s, women have alwavs been key in the development of Korea and Taiwan's democracy. However, this has been largely ignored. If and when women are mentioned, they tend to be stereotyped as cheap labour that both economies successfully exploit. This thesis tries to redress this by focusing on the role of women as agents in movements for change. It also steers away from the tendency to assume certain homogeneity within movements of women in Asia by highlighting the different streams of women's activism in these two places, revealing conflicts as well as consensus over ideas and strategies.