Status of Women in the Philippines - Essay Example

Status/Profile of Women in the Philippines It is a myth that globalization is a neutral process. In its efforts to make things global, globalization has tremendous impact on the various dimensions of the people in the nations affected. Likewise, Structural Adjustment programs also affect the lives of the people in such nations. Globalization “is the process of creating languages, services, and products that apply not just to an individual neighborhood or city or country, but to the whole world.” The Structural Adjustment Programs may be understood as the “development schemes forced on poor countries by international financial organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.” (An Introduction to Women and Globalization. 2006). When we consider the case of the women, we understand that these impacts are meant also for them. In the Philippines their impact on the various dimensions of women is very much evident. The Philippines is often regarded as a nation of strong and efficient women who directly and indirectly run the families, business enterprises, government agencies and other such programs. The primary wish of every common woman in the Philippines is the individual growth of her own. In the masculine dominated era of the post-colonial Philippines, the women there enjoy a culture focused on the community and the family is its main unit. Compared to the women of the other parts of the Global South, there is a greater influence of the Globalization on the women in the Philippines. An overview of the changes in social, sexual-reproductive, economic, and political spheres as related to women in the Philippines makes this observation clear. There were many favorable conditions that helped in the high status that the women in the Philippines enjoy now. “Women have always enjoyed greater equality in Philippine society than was common in other parts of Southeast Asia.” (The Role and Status Women. 2007). The favorable occupational distribution has helped them in many ways though there are many economic problems related to profession that the women possess, it is certain that the economic stability of the Philippine women compared to that of the women of the neighboring nations is much higher. The pre-colonial social structure also helped the Philippine women emerge as strong power of the social system. Modern day role of the women there is manifold. They play decisive roles in the families and the society. Women there handle and take care of the money, act as religious mentors, and even decide on the marriages and other important matters. In spite of the male chauvinism of the Philippines, this is a society that respects the women very much and it is clear from the examples of the women political leaders like Corazon Aquino, Imelda Marcos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who have emerged strongly in the nation. The empowered women of the Philippines have made significant contributions to the Philippine society. These women have worked for the cause of their kind and the merit of the society has, thus, reached every fraction of the community. The works of the female leaders of the nation for the upbringing of the womenfolk is worth considering. The social empowerment of the women has been one of the primary considerations of the nation for a long time. Women actively participate in the social programs and they are the torchbearers of the social and political spheres of the nation at present. The fact is that globalization along with other favorable conditions has helped in the stronger position of the women In the Philippine society and economy. The urban setting of the nation which is an outcome of the globalization has also contributed to the current status of the women there. The financial contribution made by the women in order to support the family is much higher to that of the men there. The favorable conditions in the employment sector also help them in carrying out their familial obligations. The number of women in high ranking positions and other managerial positions in banks, government and multinational companies is increasing at a fast rate. Thus, the economic hold of the women in the nation is higher compared to that of the women in the other South-Asian countries. In the political sphere of the nation also the strong hold of the Philippine women is evident and examples of many a great leaders of the nation demonstrate the fact. Though the engagement in politics was much slow a process, the empowerment of the women helped them greatly in their emergence as strong political leaders. The modern day political system of the nation gives much importance to the female representation and the women perform highly as political leaders. The factors of family name and heritage and the dynasty system in the politics hinder the progress of many a potential women political leaders. The elevation of Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the women presidents of the nation was encouraging to a number of female politicians. In the Asian countries the economic, social and political developments have reflected in the higher status of women. As often remarked, “women’s conditions have improved with economic development and social and political change that favors equality and individual rights.” (The Changing Status of Women in Asian Societies. 1999). The example of the Philippines proves it right. The educational improvement, the development in the employment opportunities and in the life expectancy along with many other social and economic progresses in the Philippines is the result of the globalization and the related modern phenomena. In the Philippines, the women’s enrollment in the secondary school is slightly higher than that of men. Contrary to the general fact about women attending the college and the universities, there is a higher university enrollment rates for women. “In the Philippines, 33 percent of women were enrolled in 1995, compared with 25 percent of men.” (The Changing Status of Women in Asian Societies. 1999). In the same year, 53% of women aged between 15 and 64 were employed in all the sectors, including agriculture. Contrary to the general trend in other nations, 12% of the economically active women in the Philippines are engaged in the professional and managerial category as well as large proportions in clerical, sales, and service (50%) and in industry (11%). Women’s increasing life expectancy also points to the advancement in nutrition and health care. Economic development and social modernization which are the result mainly of the globalization have benefited the women in the Philippines. The colonial development and its continuing in the form of globalization and neo-liberal practices have tremendous influence on the Philippine women. These developments in the in the background of neo-liberal globalization are often gendered so as to constitute the junctures of gender, race, and class. The Philippines today is a neo-colony of the US and here we find the gendered colonial inheritance strengthened by the politics of neo-liberal globalization. Today, it is clashed by the process of decolonization initiated by women. Now to focus on the impact of the Structural Adjustment Policies on the various dimensions of women in the Philippines, let us note that “since the mid-1980s, the main influence on women’s employment has been the impact of recession and structural adjustment.” (Gender issues in the world of work. 2007). It is women who have been affected more by the SAPs in the Philippines. There was higher open unemployment rates for women in the Philippines compared to men between the mid-1980s and the early-1990s. The data given here tells about the condition of the women workers in the Philippines just as it was in the other Asian countries. As the women are forced to join the labor market, the additional worker effect may function. This “invisible adjustment” by women, as UNICEF terms it, does not show up in the official statistics. “Structural adjustment has been marked by feminization of employment, but with important shifts in sectors and status.” (Gender issues in the world of work. 2007). Women’s employment has grown faster than that of men during the structural adjustment. But it was more in the non-formal sector rather than in the formal sector. Economic liberalization and related efforts both by the government and the private sector to minimize production costs and enhance competition has helped in the flexible workforce. There are many strategies like, “trainee” category, adopted by the establishments that have increased the vulnerability of women workers. In the Philippines, due to the labor casualisation there is higher proportion of total employment consisting of women and they become more vulnerable to the exploitive conditions. As a strategy for survival, they have gone into self-employment. Women’s disadvantages are now made use of as comparative advantage as they enter the international job markets as contract laborers. The Philippine women migrant workers in the Asian destinations outnumber men by 12 to1. There is a tendency among women to be “disproportionately affected by privatization, cuts in government spending and downscaling of the public sector.” (Gender issues in the world of work. 2007). An accompanying decline in social protection for women is also seen in the region. The limited coverage of the social security programs is more in the case of the women than that of the men. They are the protectors of the family and their income and health care are crucial to the family. Most of the women are in the informal sector and due to this the conventional social security schemes are not advantageous to them. They are highly affected by the inadequacy of the health care, sickness, and maternity benefits. Some of the developments in comparison with women in agriculture or in rural Philippines will demonstrate how the structural adjustment policies of the 1980’s have only increased the inequalities of the women in the Philippines. The main reason for the development of the inequalities of the working women in the Philippines is due to the employment opportunities that are dominated by the male counterparts. It is true that there are no legal restrictions for the women to involve in the decision making and the related activities of any nature. However, these areas are still dominated by men and this gender-based discrimination leads to the sidelining of the potential power of women. . Gender-based earnings differentials persist because, while male and female workers are paid the same rate for the same work, women are generally hired for the lower-paying tasks. As opposed to the earlier times, women are not the heads of the families in many cases. This is primarily because the increasing poverty in the countryside makes people and families move to cities. There are also other reasons for the marginalization of the women in the Philippines. “Gender-based earnings differentials persist because, while male and female workers are paid the same rate for the same work, women are generally hired for the lower-paying tasks.” There are more serious issues that determine the fate of the working women. “According to the women most involved in agriculture, the set of strategies outlined for rural women will define their future. The struggle for access to resources, the need for protection from exploitation, and the desire for the improvement of self, family and community reverberate in the plan of action for women in agriculture.” (Executive summary. 2007). Let us base our arguments on the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) which described the condition of, and issues faced by, women in rural Philippines as follows (NCRFW 1985): 1. Philippine agriculture was generally male-oriented, but it nonetheless absorbed 55 percent of all rural female workers. Women, however, comprised only 30 percent of all agricultural workers. 2. Adoption of new technologies has effected a shift from unpaid to paid labor. This was shown by the increased weeding requirements of the high-yielding, early-maturing rice varieties. However, mechanization of such operations as threshing has reduced the share of landless women in the rice harvest. 3. With the exception of home management and other "feminine" inputs, agricultural programs rarely considered women as target clients. This was true for the government-sponsored cooperative program, extension, or credit. This bias against women was attributed to the general assumption that the men were the full-time farmers, while the women were "merely housekeepers". 4. Among the technicians of the Department of Agriculture, only the Home Management Technicians worked with women, although women technicians comprised 58 percent of all technicians (Unnevehr and Stanford 1985:15). 5. Women seemed to prefer combining their economic role with supervising or attending to their home responsibilities. This partly explained the survival of subcontracting schemes which, although generally susceptible to exploitative practices, thrived in rural areas because they do not take women away from their homes. (Review and appraisal. 2007). We have seen that the women in the Philippines need to look after their families and for this they mainly depend on the informal sector. “To feed their families, women engage principally in the cultivation of kitchen gardens and subsistence crops, especially root-crops. They also take responsibility for growing vegetables, although the men often take over the enterprise once vegetable production has become the households major cash crop.” (Introduction. 2007). The several national and international changes over the last one decade have affected the rural Philippines, especially the women. One of the main influences was that of the globalization which forced the nation to the competitive nature of the world. Here, the women who had to bear the burden of the families were highly exploited and the effects of the globalization are more on the working women of the Philippines. In conclusion, the remark that the structural adjustment policies of the 1980’s have only increased the inequalities of the women in the Philippines is revealed as true. Structural Adjustment Programs are loans given to developing countries, which are then held under strict conditionality of how they are to spend their money. Since its implementation, the lives of the women have been negatively impacted socially, economically, and physically. The pressure on women has increased tremendously due to the nature of work offered by the globalization. In the case of men it does not have such great influence. Globalization has remarkably contributed to the gender difference and made things worse for the women. The impact of globalization on the Philippine woman demonstrates the same fact. All features of globalization in the Philippines including privatization, deregulation, liberalization, finance capitalism, labor flexibilization, labor export, and others have influenced the woman the more. It is no wonder that there is a women’s resistance movement to globalization “led by GABRIELA, the militant national coalition of women’s organization in the Philippines.” (Lindio 2005). No matter the other considerations, there is clear gender difference when it comes to the case of globalization. The women are the real sufferers of the globalization and its effect on the society and culture. Works cited An Introduction to Women and Globalization. Women the economy. 2006. 12 Nov. 2007 . The role and status of women. Philippines table of content. 2007. 12 Nov. 2007 . The Changing Status of Women in Asian Societies. UNESCO. 1999. 12 Nov. 2007 . Gender issues in the world of work. Emerging gender issues in the Asia Pacific region. 2007. 12 Nov. 2007 . Executive summary. National sectoral report for the Philippines- Women, agriculture and rural development. 2007. 12 Nov. 2007 . Review and appraisal. The situation in the early eighties. National sectoral report for the Philippines - Women, agriculture and rural development. 12 Nov. 2007 . Introduction. National sectoral report for the Philippines - Women, agriculture and rural development. 2007. 12 Nov. 2007 . Lindio, Ligaya. Women’s Resistance to Globalization. Neo-Liberal Globalization in the Philippines. It’s Impact on Filipino Women and Their Forms of Resistance. McGovern. 2005. 12 Nov. 2007 . Baden, S. The Impact of Recession and Structural Adjustment on Women’s Work in Developing and Developed Countries. Equality for Women in Employment: An Interdepartmental Project IDP Women/WP-19. ILO: Geneva. 1993. Joekes, S. Engendering Adjustment for the 1980s. Report of the Commonwealth Expert Group on Women and Structural Adjustment. Commonwealth Secretariat Publications, London. 1989. Lindio, Ligaya. Neo-Liberal Globalization in the Philippines. It’s Impact on Filippino Women and their Forms of Resistance. McGovern Indiana University. Read More