ENDEAVOR

Tomorrow, March 8, World Women’s Day, is being celebrated with the recurring theme, WE for Gender Equality and Inclusive Society, that was adopted in 2023 and runs through 2028. WE stands for Women and Everyone.

The Philippine theme is, Lipunang Patas sa Bagong Pilipinas; Kakayahan ng Kababaihan, Patunayan!, which translates into: Social Equality in the New Philippines: Uphold Women’s Capability!

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2020 census that was announced in 2022, there are slightly less women than men in the country, at 49.4 percent versus 50.6 percent, or a difference of 1.37 million.

But wide disparities persist.

In a talk before Department of Justice (DOJ) employees last Monday, March 4, Supreme Court Associate Justice Filomena D. Singh urged the country’s women “to never give up and speak up for your rights and for what you believe that you deserve.”

With Associate Justice Amy Lazaro Javier, she is one of two women magistrates in the 15-person Supreme Court. Recalling her career in the judiciary where she served as metropolitan trial court judge, regional trial court judge, and Court of Appeals associate justice before her promotion to the Supreme Court, she said:

“I felt that I had to do everything a hundred times better than my male contemporaries. And even when I did, I would still get rejected many times… I know that during those times, as compared to the others, I was at least equal to them but I still did not get the position. But I did not let that get me down. I did not let that stop me from what I wanted to achieve. And that is my main message to everyone here… If I can do it, you can also do it.”

Indeed, women in the Philippines face severe challenges, while assuming major responsibilities.

The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), the highest policy making body that is part of the Office of the President, “Violence against women (VAW) appears as one of the country’s pervasive social problems.” Citing the PSA’s National Demographic and Health Survey in 2022, the PCW points out that 17.5 percent of Filipino women aged 15 to 49 “have experienced any form of physical, sexual and emotional violence from their intimate partners. This translates to 4.87 million, certainly not an insignificant number. More specifically, as of 2021, there were 8,399 reported cases of physical violence; 1,791 on rape; and 1,505 on acts of lasciviousness.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a noticeable rise in online child abuse incidents. Claims of lower incidence of sexual abuse against women could not be verified due to quarantine and lockdown restrictions.

One area of critical focus is that there are 27.85 million women of reproductive age, from 15 to 48 years old. Fifteen percent of women age 25 to 49 were married by age 18, and about one in three were married by age 20. Since an overwhelming majority belong to the lowest economic levels, problems of infant and early childhood malnutrition that bring about stunting have reached crisis levels.

Zooming out and taking on a global perspective enables the appreciation of more hopeful perspectives. The PCW cites the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) Report which says the Philippines has maintained its status as “leading Asian country in narrowing the gender gap.” The country’s 79.1 percent gender parity is 18th highest among 146 countries globally, placing second only to New Zealand in Asia-Pacific. It’s the only country in the top 20, significantly ahead of Singapore in 49th place. The Global Gender Gap Index evaluates gender equality and progress across four crucial dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Political Empowerment, and Health and Survival.

On a narrower focus, the World Bank’s Women, Business, and the Law (WBL) 2024 report, gives the Philippines a score of 70 out of 100 under an expanded WBL 2.0 index that surveys 190 economies. Vietnam was the Southeast Asian leader with an index of 85, ahead of the Philippines, Singapore (65), Thailand and Indonesia (60), Malaysia (47.5) and Brunei (35). The Philippines’ score was also above the global average of 64.2 and the East Asia and Pacific average of 57.8.

In terms of gender equality, the Philippine Constitution’s Article XIII on Social Justice and Human Rights dedicates a specific provision: “Section 14. The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men.” Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic M. V. F. Leonen notes

“The order of women and men rather than men and women is a conscious decision of the Constitutional Commission when it wrote the Constitution,” Leonen pointed out.

On the issue of inclusion, it is well to understand the context in which the United Nations and the PCW promotes this advocacy:

“Inclusive society goes beyond a gender-responsive approach; it champions a society that surpasses the distinctions in SOGIE, class, ability, generation, status, and culture. It envisions a society where every individual, each endowed with rights and responsibilities, plays an active role. Equality and inclusion are interwoven elements of the GEWE advocacy, emphasizing the importance of fostering a society that embraces and celebrates diversity.”

SOGIE stands for Social Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, while GEWE stands for Gender Equality for Women Empowerment. Noteworthy is the fact that the Supreme Court, in its five year Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovation that was crafted by the en banc under the leadership of Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, has created a Committee on Gender Responsiveness in the Judiciary.

“Out of nearly 2,000 judges, 55 percent are women, a testament to our commitment to inclusivity, meritocracy, and diversity,” said Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, co-chairperson of the Supreme Court Committee on Gender Responsiveness in the Judiciary (CGRJ), at the Court’s celebration of International Women’s Month after the flag raising ceremony held at the Supreme Court courtyard earlier this month.

Workers’ organizations point out that women workers strive for greater equality, as most of them are employed in the informal sector where there is a huge deficit in enforcing equitable pay and rights to fair treatment.