Why do Asian women wear gloves while driving?

Not all of them of course, not even most of them; but I’ve noticed that whenever I see someone wearing gloves while driving, it’s always an Asian and almost always a woman.

Every once in a great while I’ll see a middle-aged Caucasian wearing driving gloves, but I see many Asian women wearing white gloves or other non-driving, non-sporting gloves.

Why is that?

Are they long, white gloves which extend a long way up the arm?

It’s common to see Vietnamese women wearing those here in Sydney. In Vietnam there is a cultural bias against getting a tan; people (especially women) worry this will mark a person as a field worker or labourer. Vietnamese women tend to wear long, flowing clothes (both traditional and Western), gloves, and hats. Even parasols are non uncommon. I guess the concern is that the hands are exposed to the sun whilst driving.

Just my WAG.

Some of them are long white gloves. Some are wrist-length white gloves. Some are wrist-length monotone or multi-coloured gloves.

I mostly see Vietnamese women wearing them, but that’s probably because I work near and commute past “Little Saigon”. I can’t tell the nationality of many of the others.