Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman led the meeting, the first for the country since 1995, on the interactive dialogue for women policies on the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) in New York City.

The CSW, which is a principal intergovernmental body under the United Nations (UN), aims to create policies on women's empowerment and gender equality.

The commission annually holds a 10-day global summit, usually in March, for UN member states, civil society, and gender experts to deliberate on the developments, concerns, as well as set policies and global standards on equal opportunities for all genders and the rights of women.

Participants would deliberate on the progress on implementing “Agreed Conclusions,” the outcome document of the session that contains a set of concrete recommendations for governments, intergovernmental bodies and other institutions, civil society actors, and other relevant stakeholders, to be implemented at the international, national, regional and local level.

For this year, the Agreed Conclusion that was reviewed emphasized action in five key policy areas, namely: Strengthen normative, legal, and policy frameworks; strengthen women’s and girls’ access to social protection; strengthen access to public services for women and girls; make infrastructure work for women and girls; and mobilize resources, strengthen women’s participation, and improve evidence.

The Interactive Dialogue on the review theme allows members of the commission to share their experiences, best practices, and challenges in the implementation of the agreed conclusions of the previous CSW session under the priority theme “Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women
and girls.”

Pangandaman, as chair of the dialogue, facilitated the discussion and oversaw the interaction among delegations.

In one dialogue, the DBM chief addressed the need for support on menstrual health especially among Filipino women who don't have access to menstrual products like sanitary napkins, and hygiene materials fall under period poverty.

“With a population of almost 120 million that is almost 50 percent female,  we need to understand the social, cultural, economic, and even political barriers to menstrual products, education, and sanitation, as well as its impact on health issues ranging from urinary tract infections to depression,” she stated.

During this dialogue, representatives from Jordan, Mali, Mexico, and Colombia presented their insights while Egypt, Morocco, Cameroon, Canada, Qatar, Chile, and Ecuador made their inquiries and comments.

Pangandaman earlier delivered the Philippines’ Statement at both the General Discussion and the first Ministerial Round Table of CSW68, wherein she also led the engagement in the session's activities, which included bilateral meetings with the Czech Republic, Singapore, France, and Australia.

The DBM chief has been embarking with several leaders advocating for women’s rights across nations starting from March 11 until March 22.

Women poverty

This year’s theme was titled “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective”.

According to the UN, 10.3 percent of women live in extreme poverty and are poorer than men.

To resolve this, another $360 billion is needed annually to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment across key global goals, including ending poverty and hunger, it said.

If this and other solutions are realized, the UN stated that over 100 million women and girls could be lifted out of poverty through prioritizing investments in education and family planning, fair and equal wages, and expanded social benefits.

In addition, almost 300 million jobs could be also created by 2035 through investments in care services while the removal of gender gaps in employment could boost gross domestic product per capita by 20 percent across all regions.