Palace lauds World Bank report on gender equality

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang hailed yesterday a World Bank study showing the Philippines ranked sixth among 129 counties in gender equality.

At the same time, the Palace said much still needs to be done.

Quoting Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government still has to do a lot to make the situation even better.

“This is good news to us, although Secretary Soliman also did say that we also recognize that we have a lot of work to do when it comes to improving the situation of women here in the Philippines,” she said.

Speaking over state-run radio dzRB, Valte cited a survey indicating “there are now more Filipino women in boardrooms than the same number in the past decade or so,” hinting an improved ratio in gender equality.

“We have seen that women have taken more roles at the forefront of business, in the forefront of politics, as well in the forefront of education,” she said.

“And what we are striving for is that equal opportunities be given women, not just in the middle or higher class, but also in the lower classes. So, it will be more equal when it comes to opportunities for women across the board.”

Speaking at the formal launching Thursday of the study “Toward Gender Equality in East Asia and the Pacific,” World Bank country director Motoo Konishi said a lot of challenges remain despite the country’s advancement in gender equality.

“The maternal mortality rate is still very disturbing, cultural differences among the indigenous people still discriminate against women and of course, the prevailing poor economic conditions threatened by increasing natural disasters,” Konishi said.

Konishi said economic growth would not be sustainable unless the Philippine government puts in place more policies that encourage gender equality.

The WB report said worker productivity in the Philippines and the rest of East Asia and the Pacific region has the potential of expanding by 18 percent if women are given wider space.

WB lead economist and principal author of the report Andrew Mason said East Asia and the Pacific region is vast and diverse, with large differences in economic and social progress, including toward gender equality.

“In some ways, women in the region are better positioned today than ever before to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from development. But much more needs to be done,” he said.

The report said Filipino women only get 76 percent of what men earn. Also, women in the Philippines and the rest of the region are more likely to work in small firms, the informal sector and lower-paid sectors.

“Healthier, better educated mothers have healthier, better educated children,” the report said.

“So if we can make the right decisions and allocate the right resource now, we are also investing in the next generation of Filipinos.”

Soliman said much remains to be done even though the Philippines has achieved much in encouraging gender equality.

“If human beings were discriminated according to gender, then development is incomplete,” she said.

Of the 7.4 million underemployed in the country, 32.4 percent or 2.4 million are women, while 67.6 percent or 5 million are men, she added.

Soliman said a woman heads one in every five families and has more income compared to a male-headed family.

“In addition, these female heads are more highly educated than the male-led families,” she said.

Soliman said a majority of micro-borrowers are women, as they are considered more credit-worthy than their male counterparts.

She said the Philippines is also known globally for having two female heads of state.

“However, men continue to dominate majority of the senior posts in electoral positions where women account for only 23.2 percent,” she said.