“Gender Inequality in the Labor Market in the Philippines”

Gender inequality has been an issue in the Philippines and the victims of this issue are
mostly women. Women are substantially less likely than men to participate in the labor
market, and once in the workforce, they are also less likely to find jobs than men.
Indeed, their access to quality employment opportunities remains restricted.
Gender equality is not recognized as a normative macroeconomic goal in the
Philippines’ national development plan. The use of macroeconomic policies to directly
expand employment has been limited and gendered impacts remain underexplored. By
contrast, trade policies have been linked with employment, and the Philippines has
identified employment targets or indicators. There is a need for country-specific analysis
of the gendered impacts of fiscal and monetary policy, along with gender-sensitive and
transformative program design and implementation.
Reducing women’s unpaid domestic and care work is an important strategy to facilitate
the participation of women on more equal terms with men in the labor market. This
includes developing a childcare services framework policy. Similarly, promoting the
export of goods and services should be linked with an analysis of the gendered
employment effects. Such an analysis should be complemented with an employment
analysis of import policies.
There are opportunities to build upon some existing positive elements. In the
Philippines, an employment-led growth model is envisaged and employment targets are
set, though they are not sex-disaggregated. Increased employment is recommended to
be recognized as a macroeconomic goal and gender-equitable targets are set and
monitored. This is according to ADB org.
The government of the Philippines establishes the Gender and Development (GAD) to
overcome this specific issue. The government is also promoting women’s rights and to
eliminate discrimination. According to the Magna Carta of Women, Republic Act No.
9720 states that “All government departments, including their attached agencies,
offices, bureaus, state universities, and colleges, government-owned and controlled
corporations, local government units and all other government instrumentalities shall
adopt gender mainstreaming as a strategy to promote women’s human rights and
eliminate gender discrimination in their systems, structures, policies, programs,
processes, and procedures.
Throughout history, many societies have adhered to traditional gender roles, where men
and women were assigned specific roles and responsibilities based on their gender.
These roles often limited women's access to education, employment, and decision-
making processes.
Throughout history, many societies have adhered to traditional gender roles, where men
and women were assigned specific roles and responsibilities based on their gender.
These roles often limited women's access to education, employment, and decision-
making processes
. In some regions, girls have faced barriers to education, including limited access,
cultural norms favoring boys' education, and early marriage. Unequal access to
education can perpetuate gender inequality by limiting women's opportunities for
personal and professional growth.
Discrimination and bias against women in hiring, promotion, and pay decisions
contribute to workplace gender inequality. Stereotypes about women's abilities and roles
can influence these decisions.
Gender-based violence, including domestic violence, sexual harassment, and assault,
disproportionately affects women. Fear of violence can limit women's freedom, mobility,
and participation in various aspects of public life
. Women are often underrepresented in political leadership positions. Barriers such as
gender stereotypes, biased electoral systems, and a lack of support for women
candidates contribute to this underrepresentation.
I think the best way to resolve this problem is to promote gender equality and women’s
rights in every part of the country, and we should always address this issue in every
field. But the most important thing is just really “respect”, we should value one’s
decision. If a woman wants to work in a hard industry like the military, we should respect
it and let them do what they want to pursue. We live in a modern age, women are
already capable of doing what a man can do.
It is very relevant to make a woman decide on what she wants to do. Not just doing
chores and serving a man, because we women can make a lot of things happen. We
can also build strong structures, we can fight, we can invent, and lastly, we can LEAD.

“The Last Man Standing is A Woman” – Leni Robredo

References:

www.adb.org (Asian Development Bank)

www.ilo.org (International Labour Organization)
www.scribd.com (Scribd)
www.gsis.gov.ph (Government Service Insurance System)
www.philguarantee.gov.ph (Philippine Guarantee)

I would like to thank these helpful sources I found on the internet, these websites have a
big contribution to my position paper.