No improvement in economic opportunities for Filipino women

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has stagnated in providing equal economic opportunities for women as the pandemic continues to expose gender inequalities among countries.

Based on the latest Women, Business and the Law report of the Washington-based World Bank, the Philippines scored 78.8 out of 100 on the index in 2021.

This is the same score the Philippines got at the start of the pandemic in 2020. It should be noted, however, that this was a decline from the 81.3 score pre-pandemic.

The country’s score is just slightly above the global average of 76.5, indicating that the world has achieved only about three-quarters of good practice legislation as measured by the indicators.

For East Asia and the Pacific region, the average score is much lower at 71.9.

The WBL index measures the laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies.

It presents eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they move through their careers, including mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets and pension.

Mari Pangetsu, World Bank managing director for Development Policy and Partnerships, said the gap between men and women’s expected lifetime earnings globally is $172 trillion, nearly two times the world’s annual gross domestic product.

“As we move forward to achieve green, resilient and inclusive development, governments need to accelerate the pace of legal reforms so that women can realize their full potential and benefit fully and equally,” Pangetsu said.

Globally, the World Bank said around 2.4 billion women of working age are not afforded equal economic opportunity, and 178 countries maintain legal barriers that prevent their full economic participation.

The Philippines scored 100 in three indicators (workplace, pay and entrepreneurship), 75 each in pension and mobility, and a lower 60 in marriage, parenthood and assets.

Specifically for marriage, the World Bank noted that no country has instituted reforms to address women’s rights to divorce and remarry since 2020.

As such, 46 economies still restrict a woman’s right to obtain a divorce, and 68 economies do not give women equal rights to remarry.

“Two economies (Estawini and the Philippines) still do not permit legal divorce,” the World Bank said.

With regard to services provided, 77 countries have enacted legislation providing shelter for women victims of violence.

“Although efforts to provide different kinds of support are distributed unevenly, six countries that mandate a whole package of services—Argentina, Mongolia, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, and Spain—provide some hope amid global efforts to protect women survivors of violence and set a good example for legal reforms elsewhere,” the World Bank said.

Only 12 economies—Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden — scored 100, which means that women are on an equal legal standing with men across all areas measured.