Debates on women’s roles in Philippine society have resurfaced after a nationwide survey revealed that a large majority of Filipinos continue to hold traditional views about gender roles at home and in the workplace.

Results from the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that 83 percent of Filipinos agree that a woman’s role is to look after the home and family, prompting strong reactions from women’s rights groups, including the GABRIELA National Alliance of Women.

In a statement issued Friday, March 6, GABRIELA argued that such views reflect long-standing social inequalities rather than the true aspirations of Filipino women.

For GABRIELA, the recent survey does not “reflect the genuine aspirations” of Filipino women. “Rather, it exposes the deeply entrenched patriarchal values that prevail in our society,” it added.

According to the Fourth Quarter 2025 Social Weather Survey, conducted from Nov. 24 to 30 among 1,200 adults nationwide, Filipinos continue to express strong agreement with traditional gender roles.

Respondents were asked to react to the statement: “A man’s job is to earn money; a woman’s job is to look after the home and family.”

The survey found that 83 percent agreed, eight percent disagreed, and nine percent were undecided. This produced a net agreement score of +75, which SWS classified as “extremely strong,” higher than the +69 recorded in 2021.

Other findings showed similarly traditional perspectives. Eighty-one percent agreed that being a housewife is as fulfilling as working for pay; 75 percent agreed that most women want a home and children; 71 percent agreed that working mothers can still maintain strong relationships with their children; 63 percent believed that preschool children may suffer if their mothers work; and 51 percent said family life suffers when women hold full-time jobs.

The survey also revealed that women themselves sometimes expressed stronger agreement with these views than men, particularly regarding the fulfillment of being a housewife and concerns about working mothers.

In response to the findings, the GABRIELA National Alliance of Women said the results reveal deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes rather than the genuine goals of Filipino women.

“It is the result of anti-democratic governance that has afforded very limited opportunities for women, where the national budget is skewed to serve the interests of a few rather than to serve and benefit the people—especially women who actually carry multiple burdens in life as mothers, caregivers, wives, and domestic carers, while at the same time searching for the means for family survival,” the alliance said.

The organization also maintained that women’s place is not confined to domestic responsibilities but rather in the broader struggle for social change.

“We recognize this belief as a by-product of the country’s semi-feudal and semi-colonial social structure that perpetuates women’s oppression,” the group said.

According to GABRIELA, many Filipino women already carry multiple responsibilities—from household work and caregiving to income generation—yet remain marginalized in political and economic decision-making.

“This conditioning prepares women to eventually join the ranks of low-paid, semi-skilled, overworked, and docile laborers while also bearing the burden of household drudgery,” the group said.

The alliance said such attitudes are shaped by a social system that limits opportunities for women, keeping them economically dependent and underrepresented in leadership and governance.

“It perpetuates the false belief that women’s issues are separate from national issues, thereby silencing half of the population and obscuring the systemic roots of women’s oppression and exploitation,” GABRIELA said.

GABRIELA emphasized that the fight for women’s rights is closely linked to broader social and economic struggles.

Issues such as living wages, access to social services, food security, land reform, and government accountability have a direct impact on women, particularly those in low-income households who must juggle unpaid domestic labor with paid work.

The organization also pointed to historical examples showing women’s active participation in major political movements—from resistance against colonial rule to protests during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

“To say that a woman’s place is solely in the home is to deny this powerful history and to disarm the people’s movement of some of its most committed forces,” the group said.

For GABRIELA, these examples challenge the idea that women’s contributions should be limited to the home.

The women’s alliance called on Filipino women to organize in workplaces, schools, and communities to advance gender equality and democratic rights.

“We call on all Filipino women to defy this delimiting stereotype,” GABRIELA said.

It argued that genuine progress on women’s issues requires structural social change, including policies that expand economic opportunities, protect workers, and ensure political participation for women.

“A woman’s place is in the struggle,” the group said, urging women to assert their rights and participate fully in shaping the country’s social, political, and economic future. 

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