PHILIPPINES: Women Will Have Half of Gov't Posts in 5 Years

In five years, women will occupy half of all executive positions in government.

This is mandated by the Magna Carta of Women's Implementing Rules and Regulations stipulating parity between the sexes such that women shall compose at least 40 percent of all development councils, from the regional level to the barangay.

The challenge is "to dismantle the old boys network" to achieve the 50:50 ratio of women to men in government service, said Commissioner Mary Ann Z. Fernandez-Mendoza of the Civil Service Commission. "It's a strong provision that we mush push forward."

One key is the Office of the President, the appointing authority for over 11,000 positions, she said during the recent launching of the new regulations.

This year, three women were elected to the Senate, 48 to the House of Representatives, including seven who are party list representatives. Six of President Aquino's 24 Cabinet members are women.

In recent years, women have slowly advanced in executive positions. In 2009, 20 seats in Congress were held by women; nine women were in ministerial positions the previous year. From 1999-2007, there were 57 women legislators, senior officials and managers.

In 2005, one out of four administrative and managerial positions was held by women; one of three ambassadors and almost half of university heads were women.

In 2007, the Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum listed the Philippines sixth – after Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and New Zealand – among countries with the biggest resources allocated to women. By 2009, the Philippines was ninth, just above Lesotho.

Even then, it is remarkable that in Asia and the Pacific, only New Zealand and the Philippines were in the top 10.

Filipino women have some advantages over their counterparts. They live longer, with a life expectancy of 73.6 years, compared with 69.2 years for men (2006), according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Report on gender equality in Asia and the Pacific.

The infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births in the Philippines was 20 for females and 28 for males.

About 92 percent were in elementary schools; the figure is 90.5 for males. Some 66.2 percent were in high school (54.8 percent for males) while 31.6 percent were in college (25.5 percent for males). Today, there are more women than men in college.

The literacy rate and the expected years of schooling were about the same but far more females (97.5 percent) graduate from primary school than males (90.3 percent).

In 2006, there were 63,547 licensed professional women (compared to 40,922 professional males); nearly half of the women were nurses, followed by teachers.

Even so, the struggle for parity continues. Women farm workers, for example, earn less than men.

In 2005, 24.8 percent of women and 44.7 percent of males were employed in agriculture. According to Amaryllis Torres, dean of the UP Diliman College of Social Work and Community Development, there are hardly any Filipino women farm owners.

And while four out of 10 law graduates who pass the bar are female, only one of four judges is a woman.

Women compose almost half (49.3 percent) of the country's labor force and they dominate the bureaucracy, accounting for 58.7 percent of 1.31 million government personnel in 2004.

But more women are unemployed and earning less than men. Among overseas workers, most women are listed as laborers and, unlike men, considered unskilled.

The 2006 Family Planning Survey shows that for every 100,000 live births, 162 women die during pregnancy and childbirth or shortly after.

The Magna Carta of Women "is excellent legislation. On the other hand, there are the sad realities," said Renaud Meyer, UNDP Country Director.

"It bothers me profoundly that 11 Filipino women die each day while giving birth. Nine out of 10, or almost all, could have been saved if they had medical attention while giving birth," he said, adding "there are very broad challenges out there facing Filipino women despite the importance given to them in the Philippines."