Gender Issues, Concerns, and Bias in the Engineering Sector in the Philippines

Women have historically tended to adhere to our society's patriarchal traditions. By

maintaining these customs, women are subjected to various forms of prejudice and stereotyped
behavior in response to their undesirable beliefs in women's rights and roles in the society and
work industry. Organizational structures, procedures, and practices all exhibit gender disparity,
which is a complicated matter. Because of the numerous gender inequality issues that exist, the
workplace has been referred to as an unwelcoming environment for women. The Philippines,
which came in at number eight on the Global Gender Gap Index 2018, is the only nation from
ASEAN to do so (Investing in Women, 2019). The gender pay gap still exists despite the good
work being done to eliminate inequities in the nation's political, economic, educational, and
health sectors, as well as the clear desire for gender equality.
According to the data from the Commission on Higher Education (2017), just 27% of
engineering students in the Philippines are female, 41% of students enrolled in IT-related courses
are female, and 43% of STEM students are female—mostly in non-engineering or non-IT
professions. This data is identical to the ratio of women to men engineering employees,
suggesting that women continue to be underrepresented in the field. Although there is an upward
development, many of the women in the sector work in non-core engineering professions that are
connected to engineering. Some of the most damaging gender inequities for women are
implemented via human resources (HRs) procedures. This is due to the fact that women's hiring,
training, salary, and promotion are impacted by HR practices (Stamarski and Son Hing, 2015).
Importantly, HR practices and HR-related decision-making are primarily responsible for such
discrimination against women. In addition, employees may also encounter sexist remarks when
they contact with corporate decision-makers during HR processes or when they are informed of
the results of HR-related choices.
Another explanation for why there are fewer women than males working in engineering
is that many women leave the industry and find other employment. As stated by Jennifer (2016)
as cited in Weber (2018), “A lack of mentoring and networks, or prejudice.” The known theories
for the excess female departures are more promising when it comes to bosses and coworkers.
Furthermore, it was found out that academic institutions and businesses have not eliminated the
structural restrictions that effectively prevent women from receiving rewards, such promotion
schemes that interfere with family life or limit women's advancement. Moreover, sex
discrimination at work makes women feel inferior. Researchers point to these psychological
effects of sexism as one of the main causes of why engineering is such a male-dominated
discipline.
Even with the increased awareness and support for gender inequality in the engineering
sector, this issue was one that was being addressed – albeit slowly. Some initiatives that can be
created to reduce the spread of this issue are as follows. All attempts to address the problem
assume that there are enough women entering engineering fields in the first place, which the data
clearly demonstrate is not the case. Examples include increasing the proportion of women in
senior positions or providing benefits that make it simpler for mothers to return to work.
 In an interview by the Manila Standard (2022) of the CECOPHIL – YPF chairperson
Jean Jacquelyn Nathania De Castro, it was stated that there is a presence of a glass ceiling that
may not be obvious on paper right now, it is evident in the social and economic pressure it places
on women. However, although we may not realize it, businesses greatly benefit from the
presence of women in STEM fields. The advancement of gender equality is fueled by women's
participation and leadership in STEM fields.
Resources:
Investing in Women. (2019). Gender pay gap still exist in the Philippines-study.
Investing in Women. Retrieved from https://investinginwomen.asia/posts/video-gender-pay-gap-
philippines/
Commission on Higher Education. (2017). 2017 Higher Education Facts and Figures.
Commission on Higher Education. Retrieved from https://ched.gov.ph/2017-higher-education-
facts-figures/
Stamarski C.S. and Son Hing L.S. (2015). Gender Inequalities in the Workplace: The
Effects of Organizational Structures, Processes, Practices, and Decision Maker’s Sexism.
National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4584998/
Weber J. (2018). Discrimination against Women in the Field of Engineering. University
of Dayton eCommons. Retrieved from https://ecommons.udayton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1003&context=undergradvoices
Manila Standard. (2022). Women engineers rise to break glass ceiling. Manila Standard.
Retrieved from https://manilastandard.net/business/biz-plus/314264845/women-engineers-rise-
to-break-glass-ceiling.html