“He’s a man.” was the response I got from my mother when I was complaining how disorganized my spouse was. Oh, I bristled at the comment. Why is it that he’s excused from making a mess and the reason is substantiated by him being a male?! That totally irks me how this gender bias still exists here in the Philippines. This is not the first instance I have heard comments like that which ‘excuses’ the male species but of course does not pertain to the female. Has the Philippines progressed with gender equality or are we hiding behind the curtain of laws which purportedly protect female equality? Are we still culturally (and mentally) behind in this era where women give and get as good as men?
The Philippines is the only Asian country in the top 10 (of 134) countries included in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index (GGI), which measures economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, and health and survival of women. And it has held this position since the GGI was first constructed (for 2006), although it has fallen in rank from sixth to ninth place. (Collas-Monsod) In 1992, the Women in the Nation’s Development Act, which essentially prohibited all forms of discrimination against women and which approved probably the first development plan for women was passed. And just over a year ago, we passed the Magna Carta of Women, which has been billed as the gender-equality law. (Collas-Monsod)
In a paper titled Women’s Anti-Discrimination Committee Urges Philippines to Speedup Legislation Aimed at Erasing Stereotypes, Combating Violence against Females, which was released in 16 August, 2006 by the United Nations In formations Service it stated the following paragraphs:
Concerning articles 7 and 8 on women's political and public life, the report notes the country's lack of a critical mass of women in top-level and decision-making positions. Their low representation in these positions is linked to the need for more effective measures to eliminate the gender biases still evident among women and those who recommend and approve appointments. It is also related to the need to train women for decision-making posts; to encourage women voters to elect men and women who support women's empowerment and gender equality; and to sustain the political agenda and parties of women.
The report notes that, although the country has a woman President for the second time in Philippine history, there have been no significant changes in other elective positions. For example, in 2001, as in 1998, no more than 20 per cent of the electoral candidates were women and the proportion of them who won election remained at 20 per cent or less. In the legislature, the share of women in the Senate dropped to 9 per cent in 2001, or 3 women out of 23, a drop from 17 per cent in 1995. In the House of Representatives, the trend was reversed and women's share of seats increased from 9 per cent in 1995 to 16 per cent of the 205-member chamber.
On the other hand, by the end of 2003, 5 out of 19 Cabinet department secretaries were women, the report points out. And as of September 2003, four, or 27 per cent, of the country's 15 Supreme Court justices were women; 12, or 25 per cent, of 47 justices on the Court of Appeals were women; and three, or 27 per cent, of 11 justices on the Sandiganbayan, which handles graft and corruption cases involving Government officials, were women.
And regarding women in the diplomatic service, in September 2002, women headed 22 of the 80 Philippine embassies and consulates around the world, or 28 per cent. Twelve of these held the rank of Ambassador and 10 that of Consul-General. In November 2003, only 17 out of a total of 61, or 28 per cent, of ambassadors and chargés d'affaires were female. Ten of the 19 consuls, or 53 per cent, were women.
A major issue regarding gender discrimination here in the Philippines was the treatment of Philippine Airlines female flight attendants. The Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) lodged a complaint about the “unreasonable retirement age” imposed by PAL. (Kwok) PAL’s policy was female flight attendants hired before 1996 are required to retire by the age of 55 which is 5 years younger than the mandatory retirement age of 60. Whilst those hired after 1996 are forced to retire by age 45 and the hires after 2000 are forced to retire by age 40. In addition, flight attendants do not have maternity benefits and before returning to active flying status, they must meet the company’s ‘grooming standards’. “This means she has to be pretty or sexy enough in the eyes of the PAL management,” FASAP added. “Flight attendants are safety professionals who are responsible for the safety and comfort of PAL’s passengers. We are not mere decorations to an aircraft for the visual enjoyment of the passengers. We have a right to be treated based on merit and performance, not age or gender. After long years of service and commitment to PAL, coupled with the passing of Magna Carta of Women, we rightfully deserve to retire with dignity at a reasonable and equal age,” Anduiza said. (Kwok)
But it is not only at PAL you see this. Look around when you go to the malls. Rarely do you see a woman who is in her mid-thirties working there. Or even at Mc Donald’s, who has a policy of hiring the elderly at its fast food locations in the USA. The lady behind the cash register is usually in her twenties. What happened to the women in their thirties? Where are they?
I have a friend who has been searching for a job in the culinary industry. She is qualified for every Chef position there is out there in the job market. The only factor going against her is that she is 45 years old and female. She recounted to me what she was told when she applied to this exclusive country club for a position as sous-chef. My friend said that they were very pleased with her background and skills but because of her age, they cannot offer her the position.
As far as gender equality goes, the Philippines are historically a country governed by men. That fact holds true as far as primitive times, when island-kingdoms were governed by men, who did the hunting and the working while women stayed at home and cared for the family. (Lozarie)
It took us quite a while to welcome women as equals of men. For example, Filipinas were given the right to suffrage only in 1937 through an overwhelming plebiscite and the age requirement for marriage in our country wasn’t equalized for both genders until 1997. The Philippines’ transition from a society where the man stood dominant to one where both genders are deemed equal was not easy, the difficulty compounded by the prevalence of the Church, whose officialdom is composed entirely of women. (Lozarie)
Though we have began instituting laws to protect and promote the equality for women, the Filipinos must see to it that tolerance is instilled via the school curriculum to all the students; offices must ensure that respect for all genders is practiced by the employees; the law and lawmakers must make sure that measures and laws are instilled to bring to justice those who are discriminated upon because of their gender and will promote equal opportunity and rights to all citizens of the Philippines regardless of their sexuality or identity. Every single Filipino must strive to see all this in place if we are to progress ahead into the future as a society that respects and practices gender equality.
References:
Women’s Anti-Discrimination Committee Urges Philippines to Speed up Legislation Aimed at Erasing Stereotypes, Combating Violence against Females. UNIS Vienna. 16 August, 2006. Retrieved 21 May, 2011 from http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2006/wom1578.html
Collas-Monsod, Solita. Get Real. Gender Discrimination in our Midst. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 5 March, 2010 Retrieved 21 May, 2011 from http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20100305-256906/Gender-discrimination-in-our-midst
Kowk, Abigail. Workers slam gender discrimination in PAL. Inquirer.net. 20 September, 2010. Retrieved 21 May, 2011 from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100920-293334/Workers-slam-gender-discrimination-in-PAL
Lozarie, Dean. The Dichotomy of Gender Equality in the Philippines. Philippine Online Chronicles. 23 February, 2010. Retrieved 21 May, 2011 from http://www.thepoc.net/online-writing-contest-entries-2010/4295-the-dichotomy-of-gender-equality-in-the-philippines.html
No comments:
Post a Comment