Week 7 Gender and Labor

WORK AND LABOR NOTES
Definition of Terms:
 Labor - activities pertaining to developing goods and delivering services for economic reasons.
 Workforce- a sector in the population engaged in economic and productive activities
Introduction
Women face different constraints from men in the labor market. This is recognized inRepublic Act 9710,
known as the Magna Carta of Women, enacted in 2009.
This act recognizes that equality of men and women entails the abolition of the unequal structures and
practices that perpetuate discrimination and inequality (PCW 2010).
In connection with employment, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) indicates that the Magna
Carta of Women will level the playing field by making productive resources and economic opportunities
equally available for both men and women.
The reality is that once a child is born, she/he does not know how to do any work.
As children grow up, they learn to do various work, but society encourages them docertain specific
work, e.g. girls are asked to help in cooking and cleaning, while boys are asked repair certain things. This
distribution of labor is based on sex, and not on individual capacity or skill sets.
This affects girls and women adversely. Since girls are expected to take care of the family and
household, their education is not a priority for the family.
Both boys and girls should be given equal opportunity to learn different skill sets based on their interest
and to grow. Household chores are not only women's responsibility, it is also household's responsibility,
and all family members should contribute to it.
EMPLOYMENT SECTORS
1. Agriculture- Women farmers do not have an equal opportunity to acquire land or register it in
their own names. They have fewer inheritance rights than male farmers. Land ownership
isportant not only to women's ability to earn income, but also as a source of empowerment and
autonomy within the household. Their lack of land also affects their ability to gain access to
credit facilities.
Women are also hindered in their access to extension services; skills development, including
training in management and marketing skills; and improved farming equipment. They require
special assistance to achieve equal access, and this can be achieved through gender-specific
action plans that target the needs of women farmers and gender mainstreaming that is
monitored for effectiveness to ensure that women share approprlately in the sector's growth.
2. Industry and Manufacturing
The number of women working in economic zones is estimated to represent 64% or total
employment and may be much higher in some industries, such as electronics and apparel
(World Bank 2011a). Women's share of employment in the export-processing zones is much
greater than womens share of the labor force as a whole, and the conditions of employment are
of concern. Reports suggest that working and living conditions are poor, that women find it
difficult to obtain work while pregnant and after the birth of their baby, and that unionization is
uncommon.
3. Tourism
It appears that tourism planning has not included women or has had insufficient regard for
gender issues. Within the tourism industry, relatively few women have the educational
qualifications or foreign language skills to compete for front-of house positions in the hotel
industry, as tour guides, or in travel agencies, and women are more likely to be employed as
housekeepers, waitresses, or similar low-level positions.
Targeted educational programs could provide women with the necessary qualifications to climb
the job ladder, which could progressively help to rectify the imbalance between work
opportunities for men and women and eliminate gender gaps in tourism employment
4. Business Processing Outsourcing

The Philippines' Information Technology-Business Process Outsourcing Road Map 2011-2016 is
not gender-responsive and does not address womens constraints in accessinghigher-paid work
in non-voice services or the likely growth in information technology and engineering.
These matters, as well as the pay differentials between men and women and employment
conditions, require specific government attention.
5. Government Services
Public sector employment is an important source of jobs with better pay and conditions for women
than many other industrial sectorS, but women are constrained by being predominately employed
in traditional, gender-stereotyped care sector government occupations such as health and
education, and they are under-represented in the higher-paying subsectors. The Philippines has
strong gender mainstreaming programs, which has given women greater access to government
employment generally, but women in the civil sector may still be underpaid, given their levels of
education, experience, and ability.
6. Entrepreneurship
There has been a rapid surge in the number and proportion of female entrepreneurs indeveloping
countries (Minniti and Naude 2010, 280). Studies indicate that female-led MSMEs increase
employment opportunities for women and contribute to wider development goals (ADB and ILO
2013a). One survey indicated that women entrepreneurs are more likely than men to be motivated
by necessity; these are livelihood-oriented entrepreneurs attempting to escape unemployment (Viet
Nam Women Entrepreneurs Council 2007).
Salient Policies on Gender Equality in the Labor Market
The Philippines has ratified 34 ILO conventions and is party to all of the fundamental United Nations
human rights covenants and conventions. The country's 1987 Constitution has enshrined these rights in
Section 3, Article XIII (Bill of Rights), and in Section 14, Article I, which ensures fundamental equality of
women and men before the law.
Article 3, Chapter I of the Labor Code, as well as Republic Acts 6725, 7192, 7877, and 8551, all provide
for fundamental human rights protection, including antidiscrimination provisions, and they ensure
fundamental equality, prohibition of sexual harassment, and temporary special measures. The
Philippines Anti-Sexual Harassment Act No. 7877 of 8 February 1995 is an example of good legislative
practice.
The Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act 9710) is an overall legislative framework that articulates the
specific rights, needs, and support required by women in their general and working lives. Although the
Magna Carta of Women provides a good legislative framework, implementation issues remain. Filipino
women often do not know about their rights, and the complaints system is confusing even if they do.
In 2012, the Philippines became the first country in Asia to ratify the ILO Domestic Workers Convention,
2011 (No. 189). In early 2013, President Aquino also signed a new law Republic Act 10361 known as the
"Batas Kasambahay" Domestic Workers Act) in order to better protect this large group of mostly young,
female workers.

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WORK AND LABOR NOTES

4. Business Processing Outsourcing

Salient Policies on Gender Equality in the Labor Market

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