Gender Inequality

GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE
PHILIPPINES AND THE WORKPLACE
BASED FROM THE LECTURE OF

Vivencio O. Ballano, PhD
COLLEGE RESEARCHER
COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND DEVELOPMENT (CSSD)
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

SEX AND GENDER
Source: OtherSociology.com
WHAT IS FEMINISM?
• A belief that women should have equal right

with men in society.
• A women’s movement that aims to fight for
equal rights and opportunities for women.
• There are different kinds of feminism and
feminists who tend to disagree among
themselves on causes of women’s
oppression and how to address them.
GENDER BIAS AND PATRIARCHY
EXPRESSIONS OF PATRIARCHY IN SOCIETY
WHAT IS A FEMINIST THEORY
Early Feminism in the Philippines
1905 - Asociacion Femenista Filipina was organized by Doña
Concepcion Felix. Its objectives were limited to some social
concerns like prison reform, improvement of education,
prevention of individual immorality.
1912 - Two suffragettes, Dr. Aletta Jacobs from Holland and Mrs.
Carrie Chapman Catt from the United States visited Manila
turned the focus of women’s organization to suffrage. The
meeting of Filipino women leaders with the foreign visitors
resulted in the organization of the Society for the Advancement of
Women (later changed to Women’s Club of Manila).
Twenty-nine percent of eligible women voters

registered to vote from April 10-17, 1937; of these,
about 86 percent eventually voted on April 30, 1937.
Filipinas voted 10 to 1 in the affirmative, handing a
victory to the suffragists that exceeded the
constitutional quota. Thus, the women got the vote.
The struggle for women’s right to vote was the site for
early feminism in the Philippines. It spanned three
decades, culminating in September 1937 with the
ratification by the Commonwealth government National
Assembly after a plebiscite vote by women voters on April
30, 1937. With 447,725 “Yes” votes, a number well above
the 300,000 quota stipulated by the 1935 Constitution,
finally “the Filipina got the vote.”
The Philippines has been noted as having one of the

smallest gender disparities in the world. The gender gap
has been closed in both health and education; the country
has had two female presidents (Corazon Aquino from
1986-1992 and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from 2001-2010);
and had its first woman Supreme Court justice (
Cecilia Muñoz Palma in 1973) before the United States
had one (Sandra Day O’Connor in 1981). These
achievements reflect a long history of efforts by women to
involve themselves equally in governance as well as in
The Filipino women's movement has come a long way, but still has miles
to go.
Problems had been surmounted in the past, battles had been won, but each
generation faces new challenges peculiar and unique from the last.
Nevertheless, each generation is also provided with new resources and new
strengths; each challenge and resistance gives birth to new kinds of
resilience; each battle fought, no matter whether won or lost, is a victory
nonetheless. And for the Filipino women’s movement, every day is taking a
step toward the envisioned equality, empowerment, and social justice.
This study on the Philippine Women Movement(s) gives
special attention to the struggles of women during different
historical events and political regimes, including during the
Spanish colonization, Marcos dictatorship, and the current
challenges under the administration of President Duterte. The
study hopes to enhance conversations and possibilities for
collaboration among new generation of feminists and experienced
women activists at the national and global fronts.
Liberal Feminism: Main cause of Women’s oppression is unequal
opportunities in Social, Political and Legal systems
libera
LIBERAL FEMINISM
MARXIST-SOCIALIST FEMINIST THEORY:
MAIN CAUSE OF WOMEN'S OPPRESSION IS CAPITALIST
RADICAL FEMINISM:
CAUSES OF WOMEN'S OPPRESSION ARE BIOLOGY AND
PATRIARCHY
r
RADICAL FEMINIST THEORY
Gender Relations in the Philippines
Perception of Gender Equality in the Philippines
(PULSE ASIA survey 2017)
PHILIPPINES LAWS UNFAIR TO WOMEN IN THE PHILIPPINES
Revised Penal Code Articles 333 and 334 (Marital
Infidelity laws)
Articles 333 and 334 define adultery
and concubinage. According to these
articles, a wife may be found guilty of
adultery if she has sexual relations
with a man not her husband.
In contrast, a husband would only be

guilty of concubinage by meeting
certain specific conditions. The
punishment for adultery is heavier
than concubinage.
THE LAW ON ADULTERY AND CONCUBINAGE IS UNJUST AND BIASED
AGAINST FILIPINO WOMEN
LEGAL BUT IMMORAL:

THE CASE OF THE LAW ON ADULTERY AND CONCUBINAGE
• The Philippine Law on Adultery and Concubinage is an example of a legal

but immoral lay as it is unjust against women and manifesting a double
standard on marital infidelity.
WHY?
- Two names but only one crime: MARITAL INFIDELITY

• Adultery which sounds serious because of the Biblical connotation is
applied for Filipino married women, while concubinage which sounds
foreign to Filipino ears is applied to married men.
THE LAW ON ADULTERY AND CONCUBINAGE IS UNJUST AND BIASED
AGAINST FILIPINO WOMEN
TYPE OF EVIDENCE NEEDED TO CONVICT ADULTERY AND
CONCUBINAGE
For Adultery: Indirect evidence can be sufficient pictures showing

intimate moments, texts messages, love letters, etc.
For Concubinage: Direct evidence only and under 3 circumstances only:
1. Cohabitation (living together like husband and wife in a separate

home)
2. Sexual intercourse in scandalous way
3. Bringing and sexual intercourse with the mistress in conjugal home.
Revised Penal Code Article 202 on Criminalizing Female Prostitution
• Article 202 defines prostitution as the • The law only penalizes

act of women who engage in sexual prostitutes –
relations and lascivious acts for profit, not the customers or pimps.
and outlines the appropriate • Prostitutes are to be decriminalized and
punishment for such acts. recognized as victims, and that
customers and pimps must bear the
• The law is unfair since it implies that brunt criminal punishment for
prostitutes are “criminals who engage prostitution.
of
in the sex industry for monetary
gain.” It doesn’t take into account that
most prostitutes are forced into the
by
sex socio-economic
trade factors such as
poverty, making them victims rather
than perpetrators.
LAWS IN PHILIPPINE FAMILY CODE UNJUST TO WOMEN
• The phrase “in the order mentioned”

• “Art. 14. In case either or both of underscored above shows that the law is
the contracting parties, not having explicitly partial to the father’s decision to
been emancipated by a previous give or withhold consent to the marriage of a
marriage, are between the ages of son or daughter. Thus, if the mother consents
but the father objects to the marriage, there is
eighteen and twenty-one, they shall, no valid consent to the said marriage.
in addition to the
requirements of the • On the other hand, even when the mother
articles, exhibit to preceding the may have serious objections to the marriage,
registrar, the consent local civil the child’s father could decide otherwise and
marriage of their father, tomother,
their the mothers’ reservations will be left
surviving parent or guardian, or unheeded.
persons havinglegal charge of
them, in the order mentioned.
Law is biased against women on the administration and enjoyment of
community property or conjugal partnership in Articles 96 and 124
• “Art. The administration and • The husband controls

96.
enjoyment of the community administration and enjoyment
the
property shall belong to both
of the conjugal property in
spouses jointly In case
disagreement,. the husband's
of marriage inthe absence of
decision shall prevail, subject to pre-nuptial agreement.
recourse to the court by the wife for
proper remedy, which must be availed
of within five years from the date of
the contract implementing such
decision...xxx”
On parental authority over the person and legal guardianship over
the property of common children
• These provisions automatically give
• “Art. 211. The father and the mother shall the husband/father the power to decide
jointly exercise parental authority over the and completely divest the wife/mother
persons of their common children. In case of of any say unless she resorts to judicial
disagreement, the father's decision shall action.
prevail, unless there is a judicial order to the
contrary...xxx” (Emphasis supplied.)
• This is discriminatory to women
• Art. 225. The father and the mother shall because it uses the proxy standard of
jointly exercise legal guardianship over the sex by blindly presuming that the man
property of the unemancipated common child always knows the best thing to
without the necessity of a court appointment. do for the family, whereas
In case of disagreement, the father's decision
shall prevail, unless there is a judicial order to
woman is the make
the contrary...xxx” (Emphasis supplied) sound judgment.
not such
fit
to
GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE IN GLOBAL SETTING
WOMEN'S SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES
GENDER EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE IN THE PHILIPPINES
GENDER EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE IN THE PHILIPPINES
SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN GLOBAL SETTING
SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN PHILIPPINE THE WORKPLACE
WHAT IS SEXUAL HARASSMENT?
PENALTIES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT & DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYER
TYPES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE
Look for a news or story in the Google that
shows INEQUALITY in the treatment between
man and a woman.
• Paste in the news or story on a document

• Elaborate the way/ways INEQUALITY is
observed in the story or news.

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GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE

PHILIPPINES AND THE WORKPLACE

BASED FROM THE LECTURE OF

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND DEVELOPMENT (CSSD)

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

• A belief that women should have equal right

Twenty-nine percent of eligible women voters

The Philippines has been noted as having one of the

In contrast, a husband would only be

LEGAL BUT IMMORAL:

• The Philippine Law on Adultery and Concubinage is an example of a legal

- Two names but only one crime: MARITAL INFIDELITY

For Adultery: Indirect evidence can be sufficient pictures showing

For Concubinage: Direct evidence only and under 3 circumstances only:

1. Cohabitation (living together like husband and wife in a separate

• Article 202 defines prostitution as the • The law only penalizes

• The phrase “in the order mentioned”

• “Art. The administration and • The husband controls

• Paste in the news or story on a document

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