SECTIONAL SITUATIONER

A. INTRODUCTION:
Every aspect of society is being affected by gender. This chapter will focus on the
sectoral situationers that will give an overview of the condition of women both in the
Philippines and around the globe in relation to oppression. May this chapter open your
eyes to the issues concerning women in different areas and show the real impact of
sexism and gender-biased principles on women.

B. LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify areas where women are discriminated
2. Describe the challenges women face in various sectors in the Philippines
3. State existing institutional mechanisms that protect women against discrimination and
violence

C. TOPICS
1. Women and Work
2. Women and Education
3. Women and Health
4. Violence against Women
5. Women and Armed Conflict
6. Women in Power and Politics
7. Institutional Mechanisms and the Human Rights of Women
8. Discrimination Against the Girl-Child
9. Women and the Environment
10. Women and Disaster
11. Women in the Indigenous Communities
D. CHECKING WHAT I ALREADY KNOW
Describe the given pictures below.
 E. LET’S EXPLORE

Women and the Economy: Women and Work

Work is often understood as livelihood. While both men and women have problems
concerning work, women have specific labor issues related to their gender.

The following are work-related issues surrounding women around the globe, as described in the
2015 UN World’s Women Report.

a. There are fewer women than men at work and most women only work in one
sector. Women often work in vulnerable employment such as jobs with no job security or
with dangerous working conditions. Examples are housemaids who are at risk for
unemployment and abuse. Women who work in the public sphere are delegated to the
service sector such as education, social work, health care and domestic work. This is
called the occupational segregation of women.

b. Pay Gap – Specifically, women only earn 70 – 90% of what men earn in most
countries. Women also work an average of two more hours a day due to additional
 housework. The sharing of unpaid work at home is also an issue as family responsibilities
may get in the way of women’s career advancement.

c. Maternity and paternity leaves – thankfully, the number of paid workdays that
can be taken by a woman to care for her newborn child has increased in most countries.

Women, Work, and Poverty in the Philippines

Women as a social class are the fifth poorest in the country, as 15.6% of women are
classified as poor in 2015.

The 2015 Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) + NGO Report of the University of the
Philippines Center for Women’s Studies confirms that women still face the same issues at
work today as they did ten years ago. Women still experience limited career choices, lack of
support facilities, sexual harassment, lack of protection for domestic workers, tenuous social
protection, limited monitoring on labor standards , and unremitting promotion of labor export
policy.

2013 Gender statistics of PSA reported that: a. Women make up 37.5% of salaried workers in
the Philippines. b. 3 out of 5 women are underemployed. C. Four out of five women wage
earners work full time in the service sector

Women and Education

Gender Parity (equality in terms of number and proportion) in primary education is present not
just in the Philippines but all over the world.

Issues in education involve the gendered nature of certain specializations. Women may be
underrepresented in STEM Fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Women are also underrepresented in vocational courses

781 million people aged 15 and over still remain illiterate, with women making up 2/3 of
this statistic.
The Philippine Government committed itself to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
developed by the UN from 2000 to 2015.

Goal #2 : by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full
course of primary schooling

Goal#3: to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, by 2005, and in all
levels of education no later than 2015

Women and Health

Women-specific health needs are often linked to sexual and reproductive health needs

Maternal Health has improved considerably. However, women's pregnancy and childbirth
are still the main health concerns of women aged 15-29, which are also complicated by
HIV/AIDS.

Women are becoming more obese than men while men are more at risk for tobacco-related
illnesses.

Other health care issues:

• Lack of access to health care facilities, services and health centers due to lack of health
professionals

• The Philippines underspends for health, lower than the 5% benchmark suggested by the
World Health Organization

• Medicines are not subsidized by insurance companies or the government

• Women seeking for abortion are still stigmatized.

• Teenage pregnancy in the country had a 65% rise from the years 2000 to 2010. This is
due to the lack of information on sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), sex
education, and access to contraceptives.
• 1 of 10 of teenage girls is pregnant or already a mother

Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (RA 10354)

- aims to address the gaps in reproductive health.

- Guarantees universal access to all methods of family planning, fertility management,

sexuality education, and maternal care for all Filipinos

Given the taboo nature of sex and sexuality in families, parents may not discuss this information
with their children until it is too late.

Violence Against Women (VAW)

- Globally, 1 of 3 women has experienced some form of VAW in her life

- 1 of 5 women experienced attempted or actual rape in her lifetime.

- Half of the victims worldwide are composed of girls below the age 16

- Women make 80% of the victims of human trafficking

Culture-Specific Violence such as bride burning, child brides, or female genital mutilation
is still practiced despite its violation of a person’s basic human rights.

Women and Armed Conflict

A special form of victimization occurs for women in armed conflicts.

Due to women’s socialized gender roles as keepers of culture, and bearers of race, rape and
sexual violence are seen as war tactics to instill fear in community.
Women are prone to harassment or are made to enter domestic servitude. Others who hope to
find work outside of their camps become victims of forced prostitution and human
trafficking.

Rido, or clan violence, as well as military occupation make indigenous Filipino women prone to
harassment. Other issues include subhuman evacuation conditions, forced recruitment into rebel
camps, killings, abduction, psychosocial trauma, and hostage-taking

To secure women’s safety, the Philippine National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security
was adopted. It reflects that “All women shall be protected from all forms of violence as
provided for in existing laws”

Women in Power and Politics

Women compose only 22% of the parliament today. 143 of 195 countries have constitutional
provisions to ensure gender equality.

The Philippines ranked 7th in the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index for 2015
due to the number of women participating in the election process, as well as those in office.

2013 election data showed that 25% of those elected for Senate and 27% of those elected for the
House of Representatives were women. However, women in power still make up less than half of
those elected. Gender equality in decision-making still has a long way to go.

Women in the political sphere deal with the multiple burdens of their own career and taking care
of their families. Also, Filipino voters often look for someone who is aggressive and assertive.

Institutional Mechanisms and the Human Rights of Women

Magna Carta of Women – groundbreaking law that serves as the “comprehensive bill of rights
for Filipino Women”
Women’s Empowerment, Development, and Gender Equality (Women’s EDGE) Plan for
2013 – 2016 – framework plan for gender mainstreaming developed by the Philippine
Commission on Women (PCW)

Despite institutional mechanisms existing for women’s advancement, the human rights of
women are still violated in various ways due to sexism and misogyny that pervade every aspect
of society.

For example, certain laws are anti-women.

- The Penal Code imposes heavier consequences for women who commit adultery versus
men.

- The law also gives the last say regarding joint property to the male spouse

Discrimination Against the Girl Child

● Women experience their first forms of discrimination during childhood. When this
experience continues until their adult life, it increases a systematic cycle of abuse.
● Some girl-children may fall victim to female infanticide (infant killing) and sex-selective
abortion. In other developing countries, poor families choose to give boys more food,
causing malnutrition in girls.
● Child marriage also involve marrying young girls to older men
● Teenage pregnancy hampers the young mother’s access to education and economic
opportunities.
● Child trafficking, child labor and domestic slavery are also some issues.
● Indigenous and Muslim girls in the Ph are subjected to forced and early marriages. This is
allowed due to indigenous customary las and the Code of Muslim Personal Laws
● Children may be married off as a repayment for a loan, or a way for parents to receive a
large dowry
● Female Circumcision is a harmful traditional practice. The Yakan Tribe of Basilan use
this as rite of passage
 ● Convention on the Rights of the Child is a summary of rights that seek to protect the
basic human rights of children and ensure their holistic development.

Women and the Environment

While men and women are equally affected by access to water or the exposure to
disasters, women are more burdened. The caregiving role of women gives them the task of
preparing the daily needs of their children. It means that women cook and clean, making water
and fuel a necessity in their homes. Time spent on these tasks is taken away from a woman’s
productive work or education pursuits.

Women are often excluded from land titles and ownership of other natural resources. During
food shortages, women often prioritize the needs of their husbands and children over their own.

Women and Disaster

Gender and disaster resilience are strongly correlated. Gender inequalities brought about
by poverty rates, migration, and low literacy rates increase women’s vulnerability. Women, being
the primary care worker in households, tend to think more about how these events might affect
members of the family such as children and other dependents. Women are the ones who attend to
the immediate survival needs of their family members such as setting up their shelter and lining
up for relief goods.

Prostitution also increases in evacuation areas and temporary shelters

Women in the Indigenous Communities

Indigenous groups have little access to the government’s provision of services in education,
health, and other necessities due to their location from the capital.
Women in IP communities face issues regarding land ownership. Government resettlement
projects award land certificates to men as heads of the family.

In relation to the Reproductive Rights of women in indigenous communities, DOH discourages

home births, dubbed as the “no home-birthing policy” which affects the traditional birthing
practice of most indigenous women.

F. Learning Activity. Choose one photo from the internet that represents the sectoral
situationer that stands out among the other situationers when it comes to oppression of
women. (20 points)

G. Self-Check: Answer the following reflective questions concisely. (Minimum of 3

sentences, maximum of 7 sentences) 5 points per number
1. As a student, what are some challenges that you face that are attributed to your
gender?
2. Is the discrimination on women justified? Why or Why not?

Assessment Rubric

Above Expectations Meets Expectation Below Expectations

3 2 1
Reflective Thinking The reflection The reflection The reflection does
explains the explains the not address the
student’s own student’s thinking student’s thinking
thinking and about his/her own and/or learning.
learning processes, learning processes
as well as
implications for
future learning.
Analysis The reflection is an The reflection is an The reflection does
in-depth analysis analysis of the not move beyond a
of the learning learning description of the
experience, the experience and the learning
value of the value of the experience.
derived learning to derived learning to
 self or others, and self or others.
the enhancement
of the student’s
appreciation for
the discipline.
Making Connections The reflection The reflection The reflection does
articulates articulates not articulate any
multiple connections connection to other
connections between this learning or
between this learning experience
learning experience and
experience and content from other
content from other courses, past
courses, past learning
learning, life experiences, and/or
experiences and/or future goals.
future goals.

Feedback

Write your feedback on the lesson module on the space provided.

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H. Post Test. Write the sectoral situationer that best represents the given scenarios.
1. Lack of free prenatal care for pregnant women - health
2. Increased number of sexual violence and human trafficking against women in
evacuation sites. - disaster
3. Women are excluded in the ownership of natural resources. - environment
4. Underrepresentation of women in STEM fields - education
5. High rate of underemployment among women - work
6. Domestic abuse - VAW
7. Using sexual violence to instill fear in the community – Armed Conflicts
 8. Filipinos’ preference of having aggressive and macho leaders – Power and
Politics
9. Female infanticide e- Girl Child
10. No Home-birthing policy – Indigenous Peoples

Main Reference:

Rodriguez, A. & Rodriguez, A. (2019). Gender and society.Quezon City, C & E

Publishing, Inc.