Top posts in gov’t still dominated by men – CSC

MANILA, Philippines — Men continue to dominate the top- or third-level posts in government even as more women now occupy low- to mid-level positions.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC), in celebration of women’s month, released the data yesterday to show how gender balance in the civil service still needs to be pursued.

Commissioner Aileen Lizada said the Inventory of Government Human Resources or survey of government workers conducted in December 2017 showed that out of the 1,835,118 total government personnel in the country, at least 1,016,073 or almost 60 percent are women. 

Career employees comprise 89.8 percent of the total population or 1,647,891, while non-career employees are at 187,227 or 10.2 percent. 

The CSC explained that the career service is characterized by entrance based on merit and fitness determined as far as practicable by competitive examinations or based on highly technical qualifications, opportunity for advancement and security of tenure. 

On sex classification, the survey showed that there are more female employees in the career service across all regions, representing 61.66 percent or 1,016,073 out of 1,647,891 career employees. 

In the non-career service, the number of male employees is slightly higher at 107,136 or 57.22 percent compared to 80,091 female employees or 42.78 percent. 

There are also more female employees occupying second level positions, which cover both professional/technical and executive/managerial posts.  

Survey results reveal that there are 842,868 or 65.91 percent females in second level positions compared to male counterparts at 435,899 or 34.09 percent. 

“These figures reflect the CSC’s recognition of the importance of women as contributors to nation-building. As the premier human resource institution of the Philippine government, CSC joins the nation in highlighting the critical role of women in our society, as well as in advancing their rights and protection, especially in the workplace,” Lizada said. 

However, she noted the underrepresentation of women in third-level positions, which include the positions of undersecretary, assistant secretary, bureau director and regional director. 

Lizada thus called for stricter compliance with Republic 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women, which mandates the adoption of special measures for the incremental increase of women in third-level positions in the civil service until a 50-50 gender balance is achieved.

“The higher ranks in government are still male-dominated, with 57 percent males holding third-level positions,” Lizada pointed out.  

She underscored that as the CSC strives to bring gender balance to the bureaucracy, other sectors or levels in government should follow suit by providing a viable environment for working women, especially women executives, many of whom have already proven that they can be active drivers of positive changes and reforms in government.