essay about gender equality in the philippines

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In the Philippines they think about gender differently. We could too

The labels we give ourselves can be helpful but restrictive too. Let’s embrace diversity by celebrating fluid identities

W e were excited young film-makers, sitting in one of our first pitch sessions, a panel of executives lined up against us. They had flicked through our script, looked at our mood boards and praised our song choice for the sizzle reel (Man! I Feel Like A Woman). Then the question dropped: “Which one of you is the alphabet person?”

I realised I was the only one holding my hand in the air. Then the guessing game began, as the executives ran through the letters – LGBTQIA+ – until they landed on one that gave them some understanding of who I am.

In this day and age of diversity, Australia is making great strides as a country in promoting and celebrating our differences, but in other ways it feels like it sits frustratingly behind the curve. It might have to do with how we label ourselves.

While diversity sometimes relies on labels to facilitate communication, those labels are also historically loaded. Each letter of the LGBTQIA+ rainbow denotes something in particular for the communities represented by them, but also comes with derogatory associations imposed by others.

But what if we start to rethink these labels – or even start to look at others?

Bakla is a Tagalog word that denotes the Filipino practice of male cross-dressing, denoting a man that has “feminine” mannerisms, dresses as a “sexy” woman, or identifies as a woman. It is an identity built on performative cultural practice more so than sexuality. Often considered a Filipino third gender, bakla can be either homosexual or heterosexual, and are regarded as one of the most visible LGBTQIA+ cultures in Asia – an intersectional celebration of Asian and queer cultures.

The bakla were renowned as community leaders, seen as the traditional rulers who transcended the duality between man and woman. Many early reports from Spanish colonising parties referenced the mystical entities that were “more man than man, and more woman than woman”. Even today, many bakla in the Philippines retain high status as entertainers and media personalities.

When I was eight years old, on my first and only trip to the Philippines, I met my older cousin Norman. He had shoulder-length hair, wore lipstick and eyeliner, and would walk around in heels. His father affectionately called him malambut (Tagalog for “soft”); his siblings called him bading , but he told me he was bakla . He wasn’t an outsider; he was part of the family – my family – and being an eight-year-old who liked to sing karaoke and play dress-up, I didn’t give it a second thought. But on returning to Australia, I told all my friends about Norman and they scoffed – the early seed of masculinity training at play – and when I asked my parents what the word meant, my mum replied, “it just means … bakla ”. It didn’t translate directly to English.

Later, I learned that many people problematically mistranslate bakla to “gay” in English. As an identity not tied to sex, the word does not correspond directly to western nomenclature for LGBTQIA+ identities, sitting somewhere between gay, trans and queer. As Filipinos moved to countries such as Australia and the United States, the bakla were mislabelled as part of western gay culture and quickly (physically) sexualised. Even worse, the word can sometimes be heard in Australian playgrounds, used in a derogatory way. When I was younger, we were banned from calling each other “gay”, so the boys accused each other of being “bakla” instead. It was quite confusing to my ears when hearing the word used in a negative way, its meaning truly lost in migration. I even made a film about it.

As my mother often explains when speaking about the differences between her inherited and migrated cultures, westerners point with their fingers, but Filipinos point with their lips in a general direction. Similarly, Tagalog does not categorise people with limited gendered pronouns, and English can be constricting.

Bakla and similar identities, such as hijra in India and the Native American concept of two-spirit , hint at the striking fluidity that can exist in humanity, often suppressed by the western identities pushed upon them. We are seeing more intersectional (queer and ethnic) groups rise up in Sydney alone, and hearing more and more conversations about non-labelling, so perhaps the next generations of the queer community are moving towards a fluid sense of self.

As someone who is often mistakenly identified (the result of an apparently unisex name), I can only see this non-labelling as a positive. By undefining ourselves, we free ourselves from the performative aspects of our respective queer cultures, and can embrace the intersectional diversity Australia has to offer.

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The Philippines Affirmed Equal Rights in Schools – Now It Should Protect Them

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The Department of Education issued a gender-responsive basic education policy on June 29 that calls for an end to discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. The policy is an important step toward providing equal rights for all students—but history shows it is unlikely to make a real difference for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth unless the DepEd transforms its promise into meaningful protection.

The United Nations reports that bullying is the most prevalent form of violence against LGBT youth in educational settings in the Asia-Pacific. But the Philippines has been a leader in affirming the rights of LGBT youth. In 2012, the DepEd issued a child protection policy to prevent and address bullying in schools, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Protections were strengthened in 2013, when Congress enacted an Anti-Bullying Law with implementing rules and regulations that expressly prohibit bullying of LGBT youth—the first law of its kind in Asia. 

Still, LGBT students in the Philippines face serious problems that threaten their safety, health and right to education. In its new policy, the DepEd acknowledges that LGBT youth are still at high risk for physical, psychological and sexual violence in schools, and that despite existing legal protections, many LGBT students do not feel comfortable reporting incidents to school authorities.

The policy identifies steps that DepEd personnel and school administrators should take to make schools more gender-responsive. Among these steps are: training school personnel to respond to bullying and discrimination in schools; integrating gender, sexuality and human rights into teacher training programs and school curricula; and observing and celebrating Women’s Month, LGBT Pride Month, and Human Rights Month. These not only help keep students safe from violence, but also make them feel included and welcome in school environments.

The DepEd order is a timely affirmation that discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation and gender identity is unacceptable. But it needs teeth. As Human Rights Watch has documented, existing protections for LGBT youth in Philippine schools are admirable on paper, but too often are not carried out or enforced. Years after the Anti-Bullying Law was enacted, for example, many LGBT students are unaware that bullying is prohibited and do not believe they can do anything to stop it. Similarly, many teachers and administrators are unaware of the law or are simply indifferent to abuses against LGBT students—or, worse, participate in them, creating a climate in which students are especially vulnerable.

If the DepEd is serious about curbing discrimination in schools, it should develop actionable strategies to combat discrimination against and exclusion of LGBT youth. And it should aggressively carry out those strategies, ensuring that teachers and students are aware of best practices and have meaningful redress when their rights are violated.

There are concrete ways for the DepEd to turn platitudes into protections. Instead of merely condemning it, the DepEd should issue a standardized policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in all public and private schools, and train school personnel to enforce it. In light of widespread abuse of transgender students—which can cause them to miss class, skip school, or even drop out—the DepEd should instruct all public and private schools to permit students to wear uniforms, sport hairstyles, and access facilities consistent with their self-expressed gender identity.

It should develop LGBT training for school counselors, issue print and web resources on LGBT issues, and foster LGBT peer support groups in secondary schools. And instead of merely affirming the value of inclusive curricula, it should incorporate LGBT-inclusive materials into the sexuality education modules that educators use.

Calling for gender-responsive education is a valuable step—but it is only the beginning of a strategy to eradicate discrimination against LGBT youth in schools. In the months to come, the DepEd should cement its position as a champion of the rights of all students by making those rights meaningful.

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• Advancing Gender Equality in the Philippines

By: Sharon G. Dayoan

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As featured on PhilStar:   Advancing gender equality in the Philippines

Gender equality and diversity in business leadership have been significant focal points in the business industry, reflecting a global discourse on Diversity, Inclusion, and Equality (DEI). The 2023 Global Female Leaders Outlook (GFLO) survey by KPMG not only reinforces the importance of these discussions but also challenges prevailing assumptions about gender dynamics in the workplace.

The DEI Narrative on the Global Stage

Contrary to some assumptions, the pandemic has not hampered the strides made in diversity and inclusion. According to 52% of participants, the progress in these areas remained steady, even during the pandemic period. This steadfast commitment is mirrored by the confidence displayed by 75% of respondents, who expect further progress in the coming years. Moreover, 77% of surveyed top female managers believe that gender equality in the boardroom will be a reality in 15 years or sooner. The significance of this milestone cannot be overstated, as 75% of participants emphasized that achieving gender equality at the C-level is paramount for a company's growth objectives. These figures underscore the resolute determination of these women leaders to bridge the gender gap in the upper echelons of corporate leadership.

However, the journey toward equality is not without its challenges. Disturbingly, 64% of respondents reported facing stereotypes and prejudices in their workplace within the past three years. These experiences, though disheartening, highlight the need for continued efforts to dismantle discriminatory practices. A critical aspect of this journey is the evolution of professional networks. Historically dominated by male counterparts, these networks have shaped hierarchies within the corporate world.

A heartening trend emerges when considering the next generation of female leaders. In the survey, 63% of top managers indicated that a woman would succeed them, showcasing a growing trend of nurturing and empowering future women leaders. While this marks progress, it also serves as a reminder that sustained efforts are necessary to ensure that these trends translate into enduring change within corporate hierarchies.

Fueling Gender Equality in Philippine Leadership

In the dynamic landscape of the Philippines, where progress and tradition often dance in a delicate balance, the resilience of diversity and inclusion efforts amidst the pandemic is nothing short of inspiring.

In recent years, the country has made notable strides toward gender equality, marked by an increasing presence of women in prominent roles across both the public and private sectors. According to the 2022 Global Gender Gap Index report by the World Economic Forum, the Philippines achieved the 19th position out of 146 countries. While this is a slight drop of two places compared to the previous year, the country still retains its status as one of the most gender-equal nations in Asia. However, there's still room for improvement, especially when it comes to closing the gender pay gap and ensuring that women have equal opportunities for leadership roles. According to a study made by the Institute of Corporate Directors, in 2020, only 17.9% of board seats across publicly listed companies are occupied by women. As the nation strives for progress, addressing the gender pay gap and enhancing opportunities for women in leadership roles remains imperative.

Another significant finding from the survey is the importance of building and nurturing alliances, something that also holds true in the context of the Philippine business community. Here, professional networks play a crucial role in propelling careers, emphasizing the need to support and facilitate women's networks. Such networks can act as a counterbalance to the existing "old boys club" culture that still lingers in some sectors.

Organizations like the Filipina CEO Circle (FCC) and the NextGen Organization of Women Corporate Directors (NOWCD), both of which I am a proud member, have been instrumental in creating spaces where women’s networks flourish. These platforms provide a supportive environment where women can connect, share experiences and empower each other in their career journeys. Initiatives by both FCC and NOWCD align perfectly with the study's findings, emphasizing the critical role of networks in achieving gender equality in leadership roles. By actively participating in such networks, Filipino women can gain access to valuable mentorship, guidance, and opportunities for growth, further contributing to the nation's progress in fostering diverse and inclusive leadership.

Recommendations for action

To harness these insights and drive progress in gender equality and female leadership in the Philippines, we can consider the following recommendations:

• Strengthen Anti-Discrimination Laws : Advocate for stronger anti-discrimination laws and policies that protect women's rights in the workplace.
• Promote Women's Networks : Encourage the formation and growth of women's professional networks to provide support, mentorship and career opportunities.
• Leadership Development : Invest in leadership development programs that focus on strategic thinking and leadership skills to prepare women for top leadership roles.
• Retention Strategies : Develop strategies to retain talent within organizations, reducing the need for women to frequently change employers for career advancement.
• Corporate Responsibility : Encourage companies to take responsibility for promoting diversity and inclusion in leadership roles.
• Education and Awareness : Continue educating the public and raising awareness about the importance of gender equality in leadership.

The findings from this global study are a call to action for organizations in the Philippines to accelerate efforts towards gender equality in leadership positions. It is a reminder that progress is possible, but it requires concerted and sustained efforts from all sectors of society. 

In the midst of this conversation, it is essential to acknowledge the mental load that women bear as they navigate their careers and strive for equality, particularly those in leadership positions. Despite the challenges and prejudices they face, the optimism exhibited by these women for growth within their own organizations is truly inspiring. The determination of these women leaders to bridge the gender gap in corporate leadership positions reflects not only their individual strength but also their collective drive for progress. The survey's findings serve as a testament to the strength of women in leadership roles and their ability to juggle the mental load while nurturing the hope for a more equal future.

Achieving gender equality and promoting female leadership are not only ethical imperatives but also essential for our nation's growth and prosperity. The Philippines has made strides in this direction, but there is more progress to be made. Let us use the insights from this study as a roadmap for advancement, working together to create a more inclusive and equitable future for all.

You may access the full KPMG 2023 Global Female Leaders Outlook survey here: https://kpmg.com/dk/en/home/insights/2023/09/global-female-leaders-outlook-2023.html

Sharon G. Dayoan Chairman and CEO, and Head of People, Performance and Culture KPMG in the Philippines

Sharon G. Dayoan is the Chairman and CEO, and Head of People, Performance and Culture of KPMG in the Philippines (R.G. Manabat & Co.), a Philippine partnership and a member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee. For more information, you may reach out to Chairman and CEO Sharon G. Dayoan through [email protected], social media or visit www.home.kpmg/ph. This article is for general information purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice to a specific issue or entity. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent KPMG International or KPMG in the Philippines.

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Philippines improves in 2023 world gender equality ranking

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WOMEN'S PROTEST. On the eve of International Women's Day, the Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women, Tanggol Magsasaka, and Free Our Sisters -Southern Tagalog, hold a protest at the Department of National Defense in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on March 7, 2023, to call for the stop of militarization of peasant communities and various human rights cases of abuse against peasant women.

Jire Carreon/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has improved slightly in gender equality as it advanced three spots – to 16th place among 146 countries – in the latest World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Index report (GGGR).

The Philippines, which ranked 19th in 2022, is still deemed the most gender-equal country in Asia. It had a parity score of 0.791, where 0 is gender imparity, and 1 is parity.

The Gender Gap Index measures gender equality based on the following factors: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. The Philippines scored best in educational attainment with a score of 0.999, while it fared worst in political empowerment, with a score of 0.409.

The Philippines scored 0.968 in health and survival, and 0.789 for economic participation and opportunity.

Despite an improvement of three positions with its 79.1% gender parity, the WEF noted that this is only a partial recovery towards its 2018 parity level, at 79.9%.

“With 26% women cabinet ministers, the Philippines has recovered on that indicator. However, the gap widened in the share of parliamentarians who are women (37.6% parity), thus effectively decreasing overall parity on the political empowerment subindex (40.9%) by 0.7 percentage points since 2018,” the WEF noted.

Gender equality in education in the Philippines is almost at parity, with educational attainment at 99.9%, . The country also managed to come close to parity in the health and survival indicator, but “the country has regressed on this subindex (96.8%) due to a slight decline in sex ratio at birth,” the WEF said.

The Philippine also maintains full parity in senior officer and technical workers, but a pay gap remains – women’s income is just 71.6% that of men, the report found.

Comparison with UNDP report

In another recent report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it was found that 99.5% of Filipinos hold biases against women. Broken down by gender, Filipino women who held biases against their own gender in the UNDP’s Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) report were just an increment higher – at 99.67%, compared to men who had biases at 99.33%.

Filipino women highly biased against own gender – study

Why the disconnect? In a Rappler Talk episode with women’s rights expert Nathalie Africa-Verceles, the professor said that it must be noted that the two studies are measuring different things, and have a different set of indicators.

“I think it’s also important to point out that the Global Gender Gap Index measures achievement. It assesses gender gaps, not norms, not beliefs. So I would put more value on the Global Gender Gap report because it has more indicators to begin with, and also it is an objective measure of gender equality,” she said.

While Verceles said that the GSNI’s findings must be taken with a grain of salt due to the limited indicators, it does not mean that they should be disregarded.

The GSNI measured attitudes toward gender across four key dimensions – political, educational, economic, and physical integrity. Researchers asked participants whether they agreed with statements like, “women having the same rights as men is essential for democracy,” and “men make better political leaders than women do.” A similar finding in the GGGR and the GSNI is how gender equality was weak in political empowerment.

A 2017 report from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies noted the underrepresentation of women in governance over the last few decades. The researchers found then that the overall picture of female representation in local elective offices is “particularly alarming.”

It has been nearly a year since the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, who consistently made public sexist remarks. Experts and advocates have warned that Duterte’s rape jokes contributed to the normalization of misogyny in Philippine culture. – Rappler.com

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Importance Of Gender Equality In The Philippines

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Aristophanes's Speech from Plato's Symposium

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Gender Equality And Empowerment Of Women

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Girl Rising Sociology

In Girl Rising (2013), reveals how gender discrimination negatively affects the future of many women and continues to be prominent in society through forced marriages, extreme poverty, and/or labor obstacle. Girl Rising (2013) reveals heartrending stories of nine girls from different countries to show how these girls overcome great obstacles to obtain an education and change their fate. Each of these girls was paired with a writer from their own country to help tell Soka story. Young girls that were faced extreme poverty, forced marriage, and forced labor (Robbin, 2013). Each story is written by a writer from the girl’s native country and is narrated by renowned actresses such as Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, Salma Hayek, and Meryl Streep

Their Own Words: Resilience Among Haitian Survivors Of The 2010 Earthquakes

Natural disasters like earthquakes or hurricanes sometimes cause extreme environments to change, in spite of the fact that most extreme environments have always been this way. In addition to the aforementioned extreme environments, poverty and natural disturbances, can also qualify as extreme environments. Extreme conditions are especially deadly and leave residents vulnerable to the derogatory effects of residing in them. These ideas are very prevalent in the article “In their Own Words: Resilience among Haitian Survivors of the 2010 Earthquake” as they experienced trauma from the earthquake that occurred in 2010. In the article “In their own words: Resilience among Haitian Survivors of the 2010 Earthquake '' by Guitele J. Rahill et al.

Their Own Words: Resilience Among Haitian Survivors Of The 2010 Earthquake

Natural disasters are unfortunate events that cause damage to the surrounding environment and its inhabitants. These events can be disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes. In the article, “In Their Own Words: Resilience among Haitian Survivors of the 2010 Earthquake”, it was stated that resilience after these natural disasters is “...‘acceptance of conditions,’ as solidarity demonstrated by ‘Haitians helping Haitians’” (581). To overcome the disasters, the inhabitants of the affected area must connect as a community. It is imperative for the survival of the affected people that this is done because the connections help the people to push through the aftermath of the disaster.

Hurricane Katrina Social Factors

Social determinants have become an influential component of innovation within traditional areas of research, from overall health of communities to disaster management. Starting in the 1980’s, researchers began to understand that social contexts, both micro and macro, have a significant impact on both individuals and the community as a whole when discussing response and resilience to disasters. After the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, after the sheer difference of separate populations ability to cope during the disaster area came to light, researchers began to elucidate the social factors which affect disaster response and ways to assess those for future disasters. The three largest areas of concerns that should be considered are social stratification and class, race and

Critical Lens

In turn, women began to seek participation in the development process, confronting violence and various other human rights abuses (Snarr, 2012). Overall, the interaction of women’s networks in development, made institutions acknowledge that development can’t be only measured in terms of GDP and GNI rates, but in terms of human rights and social development. This chapter’s discussion on women and development is directly related to poverty and economic issues. The most used measure of defining poverty is by comparing national income with the GNI (Snarr,

Living Outside The Norm In The Awakening

As women, centuries ago, they have always been expected to do a certain things throughout their lives, such as being around their children the majority of the time or maybe just maintain the house. For all this time, society established a sort of misplaced control over their lives. Recently, however, this has changed; a new generation of society was born which started to accept women for who they are. Many women fought for their rights as well as a change of living for not just themselves but for everyone. Now, as a new dawn breaks, women can be seen in the seats of power and responsibility which they were wrongfully denied for generations.

National Preparedness Goals

Though the community only has a small effect on the overall picture, they are the most vulnerable to all disasters and threats. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the community to prepare one another and assess the potential risks and hazards within their community in addition to what steps are needed to address the issues. It is this preemptive response and planning, especially in locations with historically reoccurring hazards that reduce the disaster effects and overall cost. This community-based effort conducted by community groups has the, “potential to make a significant and long-lasting contributions to reducing local vulnerability and strengthening adaptive capacities” (Allen, 2006, p. 97). One example of a community-organized group is Community Emergency Response Teams or CERT.

Gender Inequality Essay

Equality among people justifies the development of human civilization. The history witnesses how people mistreated the others and how other people fought for freedom. It proves a permanent truth that the more civilized the people are, the less inequality would be promoted. However, there was no one period in the past, even now, without inequality completely. The slavery issue in the West and the gender inequality in the East both brought unimaginable damage for not only the groups of people who were mistreated, but also the society which is supposed to be peaceful, fair and justice.

Thesis On Women Empowerment

Research on gender pay gap by UNDP (2009) observes that between 1985 and 2008, inequality in Nigeria worsened from 0.43 to 0.49, placing the country among those with the highest inequality levels in the world. The poverty problem in the country is partly a feature of high inequality which manifests in highly unequal income distribution and differential access to basic infrastructure, education, training and job opportunities. Gender inequality in education is extreme. Girls are less likely to access school, to remain in school or to achieve in education. Despite almost 30 years of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and 20 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), today girls make up around 56 per cent of the 77 million children not in school, and women make up two thirds of the adults who are illiterate.

Thesis Statement On Gender Inequality

The fact also arises that women not only suffer from lack of recognition for the work they do in households but also for their work in their jobs. Women work as much as men, if not more. When both paid and unpaid work such as household chores and caring for children are taken into consideration, women work longer hours than men—an average of 30 minutes a day longer in developed countries and 50 minutes in developing countries. This is known as second shift, where women not only work at their jobs but also come back home and complete their household chores. However their contribution remains minimum due to unequal wage pay and lack of consideration given to household chores.

Thesis On Gender Equality

Aubrey Rose A, Barangot English 27B Title Gender Equality: An Established Human Right Thesis Gender Equality and Stereotypes Inroduction The gender equality has been accepted and acknowledged as human rights’ principles since the adoption of charter of United Nations in 1945. Most of the international agreements such as ‘the Millennium Development Goals (2000)’ and ‘the World Conference on Human Rights (1993) have highlighted and stressed the grave need for nations to take appropriate actions against such discriminatory practices. To give clarity to this research, the researcher uses the following definitions: “Everyone has a fundamental right to live free of violence.

Persuasive Essay On Gender Equality

In our advanced 21st century, it is hard to imagine our society as anything short of perfect. After all, we have come a long way from our seafaring ancestors. However, the reality is that despite how we may sometimes avoid seeing it, our society is anything but perfect. A very prevalent issue today is that despite laws being set in place to enforce the equal treatment of men and women, women all over the world today still face poor treatment and discrimination. Because of how deep and long this problem has run, revising discriminatory laws may not abolish discrimination and legislating laws that endorse gender equality may not necessarily create equality.

Gender Inequality In The Family

The family is viewed as an essential part of our society, it always has been and it always will be. Although the family as a unit is vital for the continuous running of our society it can no longer be known as a fixed category. The first definition of a family found online is “a group consisting of two parents and their children living together as a unit”. This is still the only way many people can view a family. Another that deviates from this particular image is seemingly wrong or incomplete.

Strengths And Weaknesses Of Government In The Philippines

INTRODUCTION We belong in a time where the world goes through constant changes. Life today is so fast-paced and dynamic that we sometimes knowingly ignore what 's happening around us since it may instantly change anyway. The Philippines specifically, have gone through great changes in the past several years. These changes have rooted from problems that made it impossible for us to develop and progress as a country.

Gender Equality And Sustainable Development

It is important to link gender equality and sustainable development for a number of reasons. How can we achieve a sustainable future, and reach our development goals if half of the world’s population has their rights, capabilities and dignity ignored? Women’s knowledge should be used to help achieve these goals, they should be viewed as central actors, not victims. Furthermore, to be effective, policy actions for sustainability must redress the disproportionate impact on women and girls of economic, social and environmental shocks and stresses. The lives of girls and women have changed dramatically over the past quarter century.

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Violence against women in the Philippines: barriers to seeking support

Isabel kristine m. valdez.

a College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines

Ma.Veronica Pia N. Arevalo

Janine patricia g. robredo.

b Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, Pasig City, Philippines

Sabrina Laya S. Gacad

c Center for Women's and Gender Studies, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

Marie Aubrey J. Villaceran

Gertrudes r. libang.

d General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership, and Action (GABRIELA), Quezon City, Philippines

Edelina P. Dela Paz

e Social Medicine Unit, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines

Krissi Shaffina Twyla A. Rubin

f Center for Gender Equality & Women's Human Rights, Commission on Human Rights, Quezon City, Philippines

Michelle Ann B. Eala

g College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines, 547 Pedro Gil Street, Manila, 1000, Philippines

The Philippines is among one of the most gender-equal countries in the Western Pacific region.​​ 1 Nevertheless, it is evident that the sociocultural landscape lags behind: one in four Filipino women has experienced gender-based violence, and 41% of victims do not seek help. 2 Despite existing laws and a widespread local anti-violence against women (VAW) movement, multiple barriers to help-seeking exist, and it is ultimately the economic, sociopolitical and cultural structures in the Philippines hindering VAW victims from seeking support.

Like in other Asian countries, Filipino women are stifled by a patriarchal society emphasizing male dominance in family structures and larger social institutions. 3 Traditionally, Filipino men are household heads and breadwinners; women are deemed subservient, hence economic abuse is common in VAW cases, 4 and a high acceptance of justified wife beating exists. 2 Women's pleasures are considered objects to pursue or control, hence they are regarded as a vulnerability. Few women seek help because of expectations to be self-sacrificing, thus giving up safety and security in favor of family reputation. Defying gender norms invites objectification, shame, guilt, and even justification of violence, hence the culture of victim-blaming. 3

Through public debasing of women, condoning rape jokes and sexual remarks, openly harassing female supporters, associating femininity with weakness, and encouraging the military to “shoot women ‘communist rebels’ in the vagina,” the current administration under President Duterte personifies sexism, shaping society's perception of women. This misogyny is tolerated by many citizens, including some women of power. Coined “feminists of convenience,” these individuals advocate women's rights yet remain silent about the President's behavior for personal and family gains and to avoid political backlash. 3 In their silence, the culture of impunity prevails.

It is apparent that women's rights is not the administration's priority, and this manifests systemically through complex referral pathways, fragmented documentation systems, and a slow judicial process. With stringent policies (curfews, checkpoints, and rationed quarantine passes) restricting mobility, this unsettling reality has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. VAW victims are trapped in their homes, unable to seek help and alternative shelter. 5 Escalation of VAW-related and help-seeking internet search activity is not coincidental. 6 Moreover, health, social, and legal services are largely inaccessible, a situation exacerbated by the diversion of national resources to the pandemic response. Reproductive health services are disrupted by 77-85%, 7 and the adolescent birth rate is 31 per 1000 women. While 10.1% of all live births occur in the 15-19 age group, only 3.2% of these are sired by men of the same age, 8 suggesting duress and power imbalance. 9

Also vulnerable are women facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, such as transgender women, indigenous women, women with disabilities, poverty-stricken women, and internally displaced women. The additional barriers of stigma, discrimination, State neglect, and harassment from law enforcers contribute to their distrust in the system, making them less likely to report to the police. 5 , 7 Poverty and job insecurity aggravate the situation: women resort to prostitution, and online classes compound the risk of children's sexual exploitation with increased internet exposure. 5 , 11

With the pandemic further threatening women's safety, the priority is ensuring functional, responsive, and accessible VAW responses that are survivor-centered and trauma-informed. Community-based first responders should still be reachable during quarantine. Healthcare providers must be trained for selective enquiry and first-line support of survivors.Referral pathways should be simplified to expedite care and assistance: upon identification of victims, a blanket referral to sexual and reproductive health providers, psychiatric aid, legal assistance, protective shelters, and livelihood assistance can be made. Establishing an active, centralized VAW surveillance system must take into consideration mobility under community restrictions. More accessible communication channels, like social media, must be made available and maximized. Marginalized women should be included in surveillance and protected in legislation, and VAW survivors should be consulted to improve service delivery.

Organizing women, educating them of their rights, promoting rights to pleasure and safety, and encouraging help-seeking behaviors while changing policies that increase vulnerability to VAW will foster women empowerment. Ensuring full implementation of the Magna Carta of Women 10 is imperative in eliminating discrimination. This includes changing gender bias norms, non-discriminatory employment, leave benefits, equal opportunity for education and training, increased information access, and more women in leadership roles to advocate policy reform. Women prefer getting help from their community, 11 hence community-based reporting and response systems should be strengthened in conjunction with bystander education to change sociocultural norms that condone VAW. Ultimately, institutional cultures perpetuating VAW must be tackled with interdisciplinary and intersectoral social and public health interventions, and the community must work hand-in-hand with an accountable government to end VAW in the Philippines.

Contributors

IKMV and MVPNA were in charge of literature search, data analysis, interpretation, and writing. IKMV, MVPNA, JPGR, MABE, SLSG, MAJV, GRL, EDP, and KSTAR all worked to revise and review the manuscript.

Declaration of interests

We declare no conflicts of interest.

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UNDP, BLGF launch ‘Equanomics’ - Economies for Gender Equality - in the Philippines

May 29, 2024.

Photo l-f: BLGF Director Pascualito Lapiñ;, BLGF Focal for Equanomics Grace Boongaling; BLGF Acting Executive Director for Administration Anastacia Llaneta; BLGF Acting Executive Director for Operations Pamela Quizon; PCW Deputy Director for Operations Kristine Balmes; UNDP Resident Representative Selva Ramachandran; DOF Assistant Secretary Karlo Adriano; and UNDP Climate Action Programme Team Leader Floradema Eleazar.

Manila, Philippines – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) , in partnership with the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) , officially launched Equanomics in the Philippines.

Equanomics is UNDP’s key initiative aimed at dismantling economic systems and structures that perpetuate gender inequality and power imbalances. By supporting countries in transforming their economies to promote gender equality, Equanomics focuses on reshaping fiscal policies and supporting institutions best positioned to advance gender-responsive taxation, such as finance ministries and tax authorities.

Equanomics will focus on gender-responsive local tax reforms in the Philippines.

The launch in the Philippines was attended by 62 key officers from BLGF, local treasurers and assessors, and representatives from the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) . This initiative is crucial given the implementation of the Mandanas-Garcia ruling, which provides LGUs with greater fiscal space and opportunity to contribute to realizing the Philippines' national development agenda.

BLGF Executive Director Consolacion Agcaoili expressed her full support for the Equanomics initiative. To this end, the implementation of Equanomics will help LGUs to effectively utilize its Gender and Development (GAD) Budget and contribute to maintaining and accelerating Philippine progress in the area of gender equality. She noted the imperative for BLGF “ to mainstream gender in our operations and offer guidance to LGUs on how to leverage local taxation functions to reduce gender gaps in their sectors and promote equitable allocation and management of resources .” 

Taking off from the two workstreams of the global initiative, the implementation of Equanomics in the Philippines is comprised of two components. The first focuses on equipping BLGF, the lead agency overseeing local government financial systems, to mainstream gender in its operations through the UNDP Gender Equality Seal Certification Process. The second component aims to provide policy support to advance gender-responsive local tax reform.

Officials from the Department of Finance (DOF) also participated in the launch.

DOF Assistant Secretary Karlo Adriano underscored the importance of developing a common understanding of the role of fiscal policies in realizing gender equality. He cited the potential of fiscal policies, such as targeted cash transfers, to narrow gender gaps. PCW Deputy Director Kristine Balmes highlighted how gender issues manifest in the Philippine economy, including women’s low labor force participation, the gender pay gap, and biases hindering women’s employment and career advancement. She emphasized that addressing these issues is crucial for facilitating women’s progress and requires reforms, which is the core objective of the Equanomics initiative.

In his message, UNDP Resident Representative Dr. Selva Ramachandran reaffirmed UNDP’s commitment to initiating dialogue and building partnerships to make development and economies more people centered.  

“ As we redefine how we view and structure our economies, our goal is to empower groups whose narratives and voices have been overlooked in mainstream economics. We hope that women are empowered to claim their rights, particularly through fiscal and tax policies, ” noted Dr. Ramachandran.

During the launch program, a series of presentations covered various topics, including the Gender Equality Seal, Philippine progress on SDG 5: Gender Equality, gender-responsive budgeting, and gender and tax reforms, among others.

Equanomics is part of UNDP’s broader goal to mobilize financing towards gender equality globally.

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Gender and Equality: A Look into Gender-Based Laws and Policies in the Philippines

• Last updated: 15 June 2023 08:23
• Created: 17 November 2021 22:33

Gender-based laws and policies refer to legal frameworks and government policies that aim to promote gender equality, protect the rights of women and marginalized genders, and eliminate gender-based discrimination and violence.

The Philippines has made significant progress in promoting gender equality in recent years. However, gender-based discrimination and violence remain prevalent in the country. The World Economic Forum's 2021 Global Gender Gap Report ranks the Philippines 28th out of 156 countries in terms of gender equality.

Gender-based laws and policies are essential for ensuring that women and marginalized genders have equal access to opportunities and protections. They also provide a legal framework for addressing gender-based discrimination and violence.

Gender-Based Laws in the Philippines

The Magna Carta of Women was signed into law in 2009 and provides for the protection and promotion of the rights of women. Key provisions of the law include:

• Equal opportunities for women in education, employment, and political participation.
• The establishment of gender-responsive programs and services in government agencies.
• Access to comprehensive health services, including reproductive health.

However, the implementation and enforcement of the Magna Carta of Women have been inconsistent, and many of its provisions remain unfulfilled.

Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004

The Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 is a landmark law that specifically addresses violence against women and children. Key provisions of the law include:

• Harsher penalties for perpetrators of gender-based violence.
• Measures to protect victims and prevent further abuse.

However, implementation and enforcement of the law have been inconsistent, and victims of gender-based violence often face barriers to accessing justice.

Rape Law of 1997

The Rape Law of 1997 criminalizes rape and other forms of sexual assault. Key provisions of the law include:

• Broadening the definition of rape to include marital rape and rape by a public officer or employee.
• Providing stiffer penalties for perpetrators of rape and sexual assault.

However, implementation and enforcement of the law have been inconsistent, and victims of rape and sexual assault often face stigma and discrimination.

Gender-Sensitive Policies in the Philippines

The Gender and Development (GAD) program is a government initiative aimed at promoting gender equality and women's empowerment across all sectors of society. Key features of the program include:

• Integrating gender perspectives in policies, programs, and activities of government agencies.
• Allocating funds for GAD activities.

However, implementation and enforcement of the GAD program have been inconsistent, and some government agencies have been slow to adopt gender-sensitive policies.

Other Gender-Sensitive Policies

Other gender-sensitive policies in the Philippines include the Gender-Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women (GREAT Women) Project, the Women's Priority Legislative Agenda, and the Gender-Fair Education Policy. However, implementation and enforcement of these policies have been inconsistent, and their impact on promoting gender equality is not yet fully realized.

Challenges to Gender Equality in the Philippines

Despite the existence of gender-based laws and policies, gender inequality remains pervasive in the Philippines. This is partly due to cultural attitudes and social norms that perpetuate gender stereotypes and discrimination. For instance, there is a prevalent culture of machismo, where men are expected to be dominant and aggressive, while women are supposed to be submissive and passive. This mindset reinforces the idea that men are superior to women and can lead to gender-based violence and discrimination.

Moreover, traditional gender roles often restrict women's access to education and employment opportunities, reinforcing gender inequality. Women are often expected to prioritize their family responsibilities over their careers, which limits their opportunities for economic independence and self-realization.

To address these cultural attitudes and social norms, the government must take a multi-sectoral approach. This includes working with civil society organizations, religious leaders, and other stakeholders to promote gender equality and challenge harmful gender stereotypes.

In conclusion, while the Philippines has made progress in promoting gender equality and protecting women's rights through its laws and policies, more needs to be done to ensure their implementation and enforcement. The government must work towards addressing cultural attitudes and social norms that perpetuate gender inequality and violence against women. It also needs to take into account the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women and implement gender-responsive measures to mitigate its effects.

It is important to emphasize the need for implementation and enforcement of gender-based laws and policies, as well as the importance of addressing cultural attitudes and social norms that perpetuate gender inequality. Furthermore, the government must implement gender-responsive measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on women. Through these efforts, the Philippines can work towards achieving true gender equality and women's empowerment.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Gender Equality — The Issue of Gender Rights in the Philippines

The Issue of Gender Rights in The Philippines

• Categories: Gender Equality

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Words: 369 |

Published: Jan 21, 2020

Words: 369 | Page: 1 | 2 min read

Works Cited:

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• Gulliver, P., & Towell, T. (2015). The intern experience: A qualitative analysis of the challenges faced by non-domestic graduates in nursing in Australia. Contemporary Nurse, 50(2–3), 146–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/10376178.2015.1101305
• Lambert, V. A., Lambert, C. E., & Itano, J. (2015). Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual factors influencing students’ satisfaction with clinical experience. Journal of Nursing Education, 54(5), S23–S28.
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• Nursing and Midwifery Council. (2018). The code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates. https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/nmc-publications/nmc-code.pdf
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The benefits of gender diversity are well known – it increases effectiveness and efficiency and strengthens decision-making. Yet, the IMF Executive Board continues to fall short of reaching gender balance, with women constituting a small minority of the Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors. There is a clear need for change. The IMFC has called on the membership to take action, including by introducing voluntary medium-term objectives to raise the number of women holding leadership positions at the Board. This report summarizes the Executive Board’s recommendations for these targets and lays out proposals for concerted actions that can be taken by individual countries and constituencies

Gender Diversity in the Executive Board—2024 Report to the Board of Governors

The benefits of gender diversity are well known – it increases effectiveness and efficiency and strengthens decision-making. Yet, the IMF Executive Board continues to fall short of reaching gender balance, with women constituting a small minority of the Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors. There is a clear need for change. The IMFC has called on the membership to take action, including by introducing voluntary medium-term objectives to raise the number of women holding leadership positions at the Board. This report summarizes the Executive Board’s recommendations for these targets and lays out proposals for concerted actions that can be taken by individual countries and constituencies .

• A Mandate from the IMFC

1. Following repeated calls from the IMFC to improve the gender diversity profile of the IMF Executive Board, there is a pressing need for action to increase the number of women holding the position of Executive Director or Alternate Executive Director on the Board. The dearth of women at the Executive Board is particularly striking given the IMF’s good progress in strengthening the diversity of its leadership at the level of Managing Director, First Deputy Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director and Department Director.

2. To achieve progress by increasing the number of women at the Board, the Executive Board should move swiftly to take forward the mandate given by the IMFC through the Fall 2023 Chair’s Statement where it called for voluntary objectives to increase the representation of women at the IMF Executive Board.

3. The current share of women holding the position of Executive Director (3 out of 24) and Alternate Executive Director (4 out of 31) on the IMF Executive Board is low. A recent working paper by the Center for Global Development shows that the gender diversity of the IMF Executive Board is also below that of several comparator international financial institutions (IFIs), including the World Bank, OECD, WTO, EBRD, EIB, and AfDB (see Figure 1 ). Some of them have made more progress on improving gender diversity than the IMF, although women are not yet equally represented on their executive boards.

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4. The stronger performance of other IFIs in appointing women to leadership positions suggests that focused commitment to the increased representation of women in senior roles in government and public sector yields results. The Board places high priority on matching the progress made by other comparators institutions.

5. Many member countries have already engaged within their central banks and ministries to work on improving gender diversity. While change takes time, the number of women in leadership positions in G20 central bank bodies responsible for monetary policy indicates strong progress is being made in many countries.

6. It is particularly striking that the Fund continues to lag behind its closest comparator organization, the World Bank. The Bank continues to have more women in these positions, especially at the Alternate Executive Director level. The Bank also continues to demonstrate higher percentages of women appointed to Senior Advisor and Advisor positions, for which voluntary collective employment targets have been established.

Gender Diversity in International Financial Insitutions Boards (percent women)

Citation: Policy Papers 2024, 006; 10.5089/9798400273933.007.A001

G20 Central Banks: Monetary Policy Decision Making Bodies (percent women)

• Proposal for Collective Voluntary Objectives

7. The Executive Board is taking forward the direction provided by the IMFC to define collective voluntary objectives for increasing the number of women Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors on the Board and to advocate for their achievement. When developing the proposed objectives, due consideration has been given to different processes among member countries and constituencies for appointing Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors.

8. The Executive Board agrees that voluntary collective objectives should be ambitious yet realistic. Given the low number of women represented at the Board throughout the Fund’s history and the slow progress made in recent years, an ambitious objective is important to signal the critical need to make progress. The different selection processes for Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director in each country or constituency will, however, require bespoke methods for achieving the objectives .

9. The Executive Board has agreed to establish collective voluntary medium-term objectives for the appointment of women as Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director combined of at least 30–40 percent over three election cycles, starting with the 2024 regular election of Executive Directors. This is a concrete first step towards the aspiration to reach parity.

10. A combined target of 30–40 percent women as Executive Director or Alternate Executive Director would imply 16–22 women in these positions. Currently, the Board comprises 7 women in these positions. A strong push will be required.

11. Given the turnover of Board members, which also takes place outside of the regular election cycles, it is inevitable that the share of women at Executive Director and/or Alternate Executive Director will vary from year to year, even month to month. Of the 24 Offices of Executive Directors, six have never had a woman appointed in the position of Executive Director or Alternate Executive Director. It is encouraging that one of these constituencies has advised its commitment to elect its first women Executive Director in the next rotation. Recently one constituency has selected a woman to serve as its next Alternate Executive Director, which will increase the number of women at the Board in the position of Executive Director or Alternate Executive Director to 8 women, or 15 percent. These are very positive developments. The aim with the voluntary objective is to ensure a steady and sustainable upward trend in the representation of women in leadership positions at the Board.

Offices of Executive Directors History of Women’s Employment: Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors (number of women)

• Actions to Help Move the Needle

12. Gender diversity objectives can be helpful to maintain progress, but they need to go hand in hand with intentional action, including during merit-based recruitment and appointment processes, to be effective. While a lack of pipeline can be an issue to differing extent in different countries, there is also evidence that setting targets can be effective in reducing gender biases in merit-based appointments, generating different outcomes in recruitment from the same talent pool.

13. Building on the different experiences of countries’ and constituencies’ selection processes, the Executive Board will work with authorities to leverage an array of ways to gain the support of decision-makers in reaching the objectives, including:

Outreach . Recognizing the importance of up-to-date and easy-to-digest information and data, the Executive Board will continue to provide updated statistics – most notably the factsheet “Gender Diversity in the IMF Executive Board” -with country authorities ahead of the IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Other options for Executive Board members to conduct outreach include: leveraging IMF management’s stature and visibility and access to key-decision makers, including through written communication to Governors; as well as written communication from Executive Directors/Alternate Executive Directors to their constituencies.

Gender champions . Executive Directors and other Board members play a key role in raising awareness with their authorities, advocating for change, and acting as champions for gender diversity. Continuous communication, including during missions, on the need to improve the IMF Executive Board gender diversity will be helpful. Raising the issue at the highest level will also be important to ensure that the information reaches those with direct influence over appointments to the Board, which varies across countries and constituencies.

Influencing recruitment processes . Setting gender targets/objectives has become a common practice in several member country government authorities. Extending such gender objectives to appointments in international organizations should be encouraged. Constituencies could also incorporate gender objectives and expectations formally in their agreements on rotation arrangements; for example, some constituencies have adopted regular rotations of male and female candidates at the Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director level to ensure at least one member of the country’s/constituency’s leadership is a woman at all times. While this example showcases an effective approach, it is recognized that it may not be applicable to all.

Strengthen pipelines . Executive Board members should work with authorities to help develop strategies to build pipelines of women in senior positions that could be considered for leadership positions at the IMF Executive Board, including through mentoring, proactive identification and recruitment, and by highlighting the work of the IMF Executive Board.

Recognition of positive progress . Acknowledging the importance of positive recognition, the WGGD will, in addition to highlighting countries/constituencies with current female representation at the highest level, consider further ways to shine light on the progress being made, including in the progress reports to the Board of Governors.

• Accountability and Measuring Progress

14. The proposed objective is a collective goal to increase the number of women on the Board, while the decisions to select candidates for the roles of Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director rests with individual member country authorities. These individual decisions should, however, pursue the shared goal of improving the governance of the Fund through greater gender diversity on the Executive Board.

15. Reporting and accountability is important for enacting change and monitoring progress through time. In addition to its regular reporting to the Board of Governors on the gender diversity profile of the Executive Board, data on each chair’s/constituency’s representation of women in leadership positions over the last ten years with the Executive Board will be published on IMFConnect on a regular basis. Selected data on the gender composition of Offices of Executive Director will also be shared with the Board of Governors and included in the Fund’s Annual Report.

16. The WGGD will continue its work to raise awareness about the need for improved gender diversity in the Executive Board at all levels and garner support for the need for action, including through the following actions:

i) Consider ways to support the implementation of the collective voluntary objectives for the appointment of women as Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director as well as regular reporting on the progress made in the determined timeframe.

ii) Continue to report on the progress made towards meeting the voluntary targets introduced in 2016 for Senior Advisor (35% – 45%) and Advisor (40% – 50%) level over time.

Senior Advisors: Status of Voluntary Targets35%-45%

iii) Share best practices to help members to develop a pipeline of candidates for Executive Director and Alternative Executive Director positions to help meet the voluntary objectives.

iv) Consider other ways to engage member country authorities and ensure their support and participation towards reaching the objectives, to be reviewed and agreed by the Executive Board.

v) Continue to support activities to build a supportive work environment for women working in the Executive Board, including through the OED Women’s Network, and continue engaging with other IFIs to exchange experiences and best practices on how to improve Board gender diversity.

17. To support this initiative and ongoing conversation, the Executive Board commits to raise this issue with relevant decision makers to garner their support and participation towards reaching the objectives. To this end, Executive Directors will share the attached fact sheet with their authorities.

• Annex I. Spring 2024 Factsheet

Gender Diversity in the IMF Executive Board—Spring 2024

Other IMF Content

• Gender Diversity in The Executive Board—Interim Report of The Executive Board to The Board of Governors
• Gender Diversity In The Executive Board—Report Of The Executive Board To The Board Of Governors
• Gender Diversity in the Executive Board—Draft Report of the Executive Board to the Board of Governors
• IMF Executive Board’s First Report to the Board of Governors on Gender Diversity in the Executive Board
• Invested in Gender Diversity
• Gender Diversity at the Executive Board and its Shared Benefits
• IMF Strategy Toward Mainstreaming Gender
• Board Gender Diversity in ASEAN
• Since the time of the last report of the Executive Board on its gender diversity, profound changes have taken place globally, exposing wide social and economic disparities.
• Interim Guidance Note on Mainstreaming Gender at The IMF

Other Publishers

Asian development bank.

• CAREC Gender Assessment: Supplementary Documentary for the CAREC Gender Strategy 2030
• CAREC Gender Strategy 2030
• Gender Gaps in Ownership of Nonagricultural Enterprises in Georgia, Mongolia, and the Philippines
• Greater Mekong Subregion Gender Strategy
• Impact of Gender Inequality on Long-Term Economic Growth in Mongolia
• Gender-Responsive Procurement in Asia and the Pacific: An Opportunity for an Equitable Economic Future
• Enhancing Gender Equality in Infrastructure Development: Theories of Change, Indicators, and Sector Strategies
• Accelerating Gender Equality in the Agribusiness Sector
• Barriers to Entry: Decomposing the Gender Gap in Job Search in Urban Pakistan
• Exploring the Gender Dimensions of Unpaid Care Work in the Lao People's Democratic Republic

Food and Agriculture Organization

• Gender, water and agriculture: Assessing the nexus in Egypt
• Good practices for promoting gender equality through rural advisory services: Case studies from Ethiopia, India and Peru

Inter-American Development Bank

• Executive Summary: Evaluation of the Bank's Support for Gender and Diversity
• Evaluation of the Bank's Support for Gender and Diversity
• Approach Paper: Evaluation of the Bank's Support for Gender and Diversity
• Gender Mainstreaming at the IDB: A Report to the Board of Executive Directors on the Implementation of the WID Action Plan 1998-2001
• An Integrated Analysis of the Impact of Gender Diversity on Innovation and Productivity in Manufacturing Firms
• Social, Racial and Gender Profile of the 500 largest Brazilian Companies: Executive Summary
• The Public Sector Premium and the Gender Gap in Latin America: Evidence from the 1980s and 1990s
• Women in the Americas: Bridging the Gender Gap
• Working Within Confines: Occupational Segregation by Gender in Three Latin American Countries
• Gender Gaps in Entrepreneurship and their Macroeconomic Effects in Latin America

International Labour Organization

• Gender equality and decent work: Selected ILO Conventions and Recommendations that promote gender equality as of 2012. Third revised edition 2012

The World Bank

• Gender Diversity in Ghanaian Boardrooms: An Abridged Report on Women on Boards of Corporate and Public Institutions in Ghana.
• Gender Diversity in Jordan: Research on the Impact of Gender Diversity on the Economic Performance of Companies in Jordan.
• Exploring the Diversity of Young People Not in Employment, Education or Training: The Gender Profile of NEETs in Georgia and Armenia
• Closing the Gender Gaps among Marginalized Roma in the Western Balkans: A Summary of Findings and Policy Recommendations
• Colombia Gender Assessment
• Compensation, Diversity and Inclusion at the World Bank Group
• Women in the Pipeline: A Dynamic Decomposition of Firm Pay Gaps
• Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Gender Equality
• Gender and Investment Climate Reform Assessment: Pacific Regional Executive Summary.

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National Consultant – Gender Advice for Bangsamoro Women Commission, Filipino Nationals Only (Extended Deadline)

Advertised on behalf of.

Cotabato City, PHILIPPINES

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jul-2024

Application Deadline :

10-Jun-24 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Time left :, languages required :.

English  

Expected Duration of Assignment :

July 01, 2024 - December 30, 2024

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Security Council Resolution 1315 (UNSCR1325, 2000) is the landmark resolution on women, peace, and security (WPS) that links gender equality to the maintenance of international peace and security. In the Philippines, the UN Women played a vital role in advancing the WPS agenda since 2015, including support to advance the WPS normative framework at the national, regional, and local levels, including the inclusion of gender and women empowerment provisions in the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and subsequently the establishment of the Bangsamoro Women’s Commission (BWC) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The programme, Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is a Joint Programme (JP) of UN Women Philippines and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded by the Global Affairs Canada under the guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator Office and the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority. The fundamental objective of the programme is to prevent insecurity and violence by harnessing the potentials of both women and men and addressing structural gender inequality and discriminatory gender norms that are barriers to sustainable peace. While it focuses on empowering women to participate and lead in peacebuilding, conflict prevention and resolution, it also aims to enhance ownership and responsibility of the BARMM governments in promoting gender equality and inclusion of peace and security processes.

The programme is a three-year that will be implemented in close coordination with BARMM ministries, offices, and agencies, as well as with civil society organizations in the BAMRM. The JP will be implemented primarily within the BARMM and in the Bangsamoro communities adjacent to the region.

The UN Women primarily support the BWC, the lead agency promoting the welfare of and empowering Bangsamoro women and their families, protecting their rights and preventing abuses.  BWC also serve as the primary policy driver of the WPS agenda in the region wherein the major outputs of the Joint Programme were aligned with the current priorities of the commission. 

The Consultant will be supervised by the Progamme Specialist and Team Leader of Women Peace and Security. All deliverables will be reviewed and endorsed to the Team Lead of UNW-PHL WPS for approval and processing of payments

Duties and Responsibilities

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

In view of the foregoing, the UN Women – Philippines Programme Office (PPO) is looking to hire a National Consultant-Gender Advice to provide technical support to Bangsamoro Women Commission on the delivery of priority policies and guidance note under the Joint Programme. The Consultant shall be under the direct supervision of the UN Women-WPS Programme Specialist, and under the overall guidance of the BWC, shall undertake the following tasks: 

• Act as the direct focal person of UN Women in the BWC in the implementation of the Joint Programme.
• Provide substantive technical input, assistance, and advisory to the BWC on the planning, programming, execution, monitoring and reporting of the Joint Programme deliverables in close coordination with UN Women.
• Provide technical support in the crafting/development, writing, and finalization of key priority policies and gender and development (GAD) agenda of the BWC.
• Coordinate with BWC and with other key BARMM Ministries/Offices/Agencies (MOAs) on the implementation and delivery of commitments under the Joint Programme.
• Provide substantive inputs on the module and technical support for the localization/rollout of the 3rd Regional Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2023-2028.

The consultant will ideally be based in Mindanao at UN Women Sub-office in Cotabato City. Upon request of UN Women team and/ or partners and depending on budget availability, the consultant may travel to project/partners areas or activity venues outside duty station to support activities by BWC. Any travel costs related to travel will be authorized and arranged by UN Women prior the travel date according to its rules and regulations.

Competencies

Core Values: 

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism 

Core Competencies: 

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues 
• Accountability 
• Creative Problem Solving 
• Effective Communication 
• Inclusive Collaboration 
• Stakeholder Engagement 
• Leading by Example 

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:   https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values  

Functional Competencies: 

• Excellent analytical skills
• Strong knowledge of UN Women processes and systems
• Strong networking skills
• Strong inter-personal skills, communicate effectively with staff at all levels of the organization;
• Ability to work in a highly pressured environment

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Masters degree in Political Science or Social Science, Gender Studies, Economics, Public Management, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, or other related fields is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience:

• At least 2 years of experience in the field of women peace and security is required.
• At least 2 years of experience in providing policy advice and technical assistance on women, peace and security to government institutions is required.
• Prior experience in developing or contributing in the development of National or Regional Action Plans on UN SCR 1325 will be an asset is desirable.
• Proven experience in supporting development of policy papers in gender equality and women empowerment is desirable.
• Knowledge of the Bangsamoro context related to WPS is required.
• Previous work experience in the Bangsamoro region is desirable.
• Proficiency in English and Filipino is required.
• Understanding of the major Bangsamoro dialects is an advantage.

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit their electronic application to [email protected] with cc to [email protected] not later than 10 June 2024, 17:00 Manila, PHL time. The submission package includes:

• Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• Written samples or links to access the work portfolio

Diversity and Inclusion Statement:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.