INFRA CAN EASE ‘TIME POVERTY’ OF WOMEN, SAYS ADB PRESIDENT

INFRASTRUCTURE can help empower women and reduce their “time poverty,” according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In an Asian Development Blog, ADB President Takehiko Nakao said infrastructure can alleviate time poverty among women by providing basic infrastructure that can reduce the time they spend on chores.

Time poverty refers to the large amounts of time spent on unpaid care and domestic work.

“In Asia-Pacific countries, women spend much more time on these kinds of tasks, ranging from 1.7 to 11 times that of men. Quality infrastructure is key to reducing the overall time spent on household work and gives women more choice over how to use their time,” Nakao said.

Nakao said women who do domestic work and perform unpaid care for their families will benefit from clean and affordable water and, sanitation services.

He added that women will also benefit from the provision of reliable electricity and transport infrastructure.

Apart from these, Nakao said, women will also benefit from digital technology and telecommunication infrastructure to allow them to tap into their economic potentials.

With these technologies, Nakao said, women can become entrepreneurs via e-commerce, online banking, and accessing fintech solutions.

“Infrastructure has a critical role in narrowing gender gaps and accelerating the advancement of women and girls. If women are given a say in infrastructure design and investment, projects can become more effective enablers of their growth,” Nakao said.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that women in the Philippines are among the poorest sectors in society.

While overall poverty incidence among women has decreased in the past nine years, PSA data showed women in many regions have higher poverty compared to the average.

PSA data showed overall poverty incidence of women averaged 22.5 percent in 2015, higher than the 21.6 percent national poverty incidence average for all Filipinos in that year.

The poverty incidence of women was the lowest in the National Capital Region or Metro Manila at 4.2 percent and Region IVA or Calabarzon at 9.5 percent. They are the only two regions that posted single-digit poverty incidences nationwide.

Women in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are the poorest with a 55.1-percent poverty incidence rate. The poverty incidence of women in the region has been rising from 45.5 percent in 2006 to 47.1 percent in 2009, and 55 percent in 2012.