Milestones for gender equality
81 years ago, we held a special plebiscite that gave Filipino women the right to vote – one of the most basic and fundamental rights. Knowing how our elections go - not just for the campaigning, the voting, the influencing, even the running - we know that we have come a long way since April, 1937.
According to the 2017 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) – which benchmarks the progress made in terms of gender equality of over 140 countries – the Philippines ranks 10th overall. We have surpassed well-developed nations such as Germany (12th), the United Kingdom (15th), Singapore (65th), and even the United States (49th). Furthermore, our country is the only East Asian country to be included in the top ten of the global index.
The Global Gender Gap ranking is based on four key factors namely: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. Among these determinants, the Philippines ranked highly in both Educational Attainment where we ranked 1st and Political Attainment where we placed 13th.
This March, the Philippines celebrates the National Women’s Month with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) taking the lead in spotlighting women as active contributors in the country’s development. It’s important to note that the second highest ranking elected public official in the land is Vice President Leni Robredo. In the Senate, six of the incumbent members of the chamber are women. In fact, as early as 1947, we already had a female senator in Geronima Pecson – a known suffragette, educator, and civic leader.
We take pride in acknowledging women in various fields not because of their gender but because of their significant contributions to society. For example, two of this year’s The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardees were women – 2016 Summer Olympic silver medalist in weightlifting Hidilyn Diaz and conflict correspondent Chiara Zambrano - both in fields that were formerly dominated by men. The awardees are but a few of the many who have successfully broken gender stereotypes by succeeding in nation-building fields. With trailblazers such as these women, we expect more Filipinas to be front and center of many sectors as they always have been.
While there is so much more to be done to close the gender gap, and protect and promote women’s rights, the country is taking concrete steps.
Legislation strives to make sure gender becomes irrelevant to the rights of every Filipino citizen. There is concerted effort and collaboration between government and the private sector to ensure that this will be sustainable.
A nation that does not take care, uphold the rights, and fully support women - is a nation that is not whole. As the late Beatle John Lennon once said, “Women really are the other half of the sky, as I whisper at the beginning of the song. It’s a ‘we’ or it ain’t anything.” This line was immortalized in the beginning of his song entitled “Woman.”
To all the women in all 7,107 islands of the Philippines, I send my gratitude, admiration, and wish for an all-encompassing equality on this year’s International Women’s Month. Email: