75% of sari-sari stores owned by women – study

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinas have more control of the country’s grassroots economy as the majority of sari-sari stores are owned by women according to a recent study by Packworks and Fourth Wall.

Based on the data from Packworks’ business intelligence tool Sari IQ, 75 percent of the thousands of sari-sari stores analyzed are owned by women.

The report also identified that only 20 percent are male-dominated, and five percent are unknown.

Sari-sari stores are small retail shops commonly found in residential areas across the Philippines, selling a wide range of consumer goods, from food and beverages to household items.

“The high percentage of sari-sari store ownership by women shows that Filipinas virtually control much of the local economy,” Packworks’ head of data Andres Montiel said.

Packworks said that since about 70 percent of manufactured goods are transacted in sari-sari stores, women’s domination of sari-sari store ownership puts them in a position to make a difference in the country’s economic life.

“However, economic sectors must open their doors to women, as women’s labor participation in some industries is still low,”Packworks said.

It added that institutions must also empower women by boosting skills training initiatives to ensure they can participate fully in the country’s economic growth

“The primary reason for women’s domination of sari-sari stores lies in the very origin and nature of sari-sari stores themselves,” Fourth Wall research director John Brylle Bae said.

“Families set up sari-sari stores to augment the resources of the household. Thus, sari-sari stores are always intertwined with the needs of the home. In the Filipino context, the role of the nanay (mother) is to manage the home, including addressing and managing the household’s needs,”he added.

Fourth Wall also pointed out that the sociocultural context of the Philippines contributes to this phenomenon.

Bae explained that women have been associated with managing the household since the colonial era, and this role extends to sari-sari stores.

He said Spanish colonization and the Western cultural influences that followed redefined the role of women from powerful religious-political figures in the community (babaylans or priestesses) to nurturers of the home,

Meanwhile, a recent study by beauty brand Avon showed that the lack of finances and confidence are the top reasons holding Filipinas from starting their own businesses.

Based on results of its Global Progress for Women Report, which reflects the views of more than 7,000 women in seven countries including the Philippines, 61 percent of respondents cited finances as the top obstacle they face when it comes to starting their own business.

This is followed by fear of failure (44 percent), not knowing where to start (36 percent), lack of knowledge on the market (34 percent) and lack of confidence (33 percent).

Findings from the Philippines show that Filipina women are highly affected by those barriers to entrepreneurship, according to Avon Philippines.

It said that over half or 52 percent of the women surveyed admitted to the lack of confidence being a barrier to starting a business, while 79 percent believe inadequate financial resources are a setback to becoming entrepreneurs.

“These statistics are alarming, as a deeper dive into the report reveals that 90 percent of Filipina women want to earn more money. However, the barriers that keep them from greater economic opportunities spotlight larger Philippine social and cultural issues that need to be addressed,”Avon Philippines said.

The beauty brand cited a study by the World Bank which showed that gender norms in the country largely dictate the economic and domestic roles for men and women, emphasizing that traditionally, Filipino men are designated as breadwinners and household heads while women are seen as caretakers and homemakers.

“The political and social dynamic of the equality conversation continues to shift, as some of the biggest and most important conversations around women’s rights, health and roles in society are debated. And the lived experiences of many women show that cultural stereotypes and lack of flexible working are still limiting women’s opportunity and choice of work,” Avon CEO Angela Cretu said.