SINCE the Valentine month of February, there have been a number of interesting pieces and opinion columns on why women have been postponing marriage, or have not been marrying at all.
Much of it apparently has to do with economics and education.
We all know that Filipinos value higher education. A college diploma is the one thing that all Filipinos know will help make a difference in the lives of their children, and the entire family. So much so that cab drivers, farmers, messengers, etc. will work overtime, or even get second jobs just to ensure their kids go to school and graduate from college.
And when that is done, the diplomas are lovingly framed and displayed on the walls of their homes, as the parents wait for the fruits of their labors, i.e., stable jobs that pay above-average salaries for their children.
However, this is where economics kick in. As more women complete higher education compared to men—and there are statistics that show exactly this—there arises a disconcerting imbalance in the status of living between both sexes, which impacts on how males and females forge their relationships.
Unsurprisingly, there are now more accomplished and brilliant women out there fighting over just a handful of equally accomplished and brilliant men.
This is true in most urban, highly industrialized societies in the west, but the same is now evident even in the Philippines and the statistics will bear this out.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that of our 46 million female population, almost 89 percent (from ages 10 to 64) have a functional literacy rate, while 96.1 percent have a basic literacy rate.
In contrast, men who comprise 47 million of the population have an 84.2-percent functional literacy rate, and 95.1 percent have a basic literacy rate.
According to the National Statistics Office (NSO), “basic literacy refers to the ability of a person 10 years old and over to read and write with understanding a simple message in any language or dialect,” while “functional literacy refers to the ability of a person 10 to 64 years old who can read, write, compute and comprehend.”
PSA’s Labor Force Survey as of October 2014 showed that the employment rate for females was 95 percent, an increase of almost 1 percentage point from October 2013. Males, on the other hand, had a 94-percent employment rate, just about 0.7 percentage point higher than the year-ago period.
Also, 33 percent of female wage or salary workers are college graduates, in comparison to only 15 percent of male wage or salary workers. Four in five, or 78.1 percent, of these female workers worked full time, or over 40 hours a week. For men, only 76 percent worked full time.
A 2010 government survey indicated that the largest number of female workers were in the following industries: manufacturing, wholesale and retail, finance and insurance, private education, accommodation and food service, as well as administrative and support service.
Data supplied by the Commission on Higher Education also showed that in school year 2012-2013, there were 1.82 million females enrolled in college, compared to 1.5 million males.
Even if we check statistics on vocational education, data from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for 2013 showed there were 943,436 females who graduated from technical-vocational courses, compared to 822,321 male graduates. Also, 216,303 females got certified in their tech-voc field, versus 115,550 males.
This means more women are improving themselves by getting educated whether it is through formal or informal education systems.
So when young single ladies complain that “there aren’t any available single men around,” what they’re actually moaning about is that there aren’t too many men who quite fit with their intelligence, professional, and educational level.
Because let’s face it, there are still a lot of single men out there, only that they just don’t measure up to the ladies. (PSA data show that there are actually more single males—at some 54 percent of the total male population, compared to 46.2 percent single women. Of course, Celitas, my “adopted” mother, will dismiss the statistic of single men by saying that they are all actually gay. Which, of course, compounds the relationship problem of single women. Hahaha.)
But seriously, I know many ladies still unwittingly single over 30, refusing to “dumb down” just to hook their Prince Charmings. Instead, they are focused on their careers while taking care of their parents and younger siblings. Readers must understand: after all the effort they’ve put into their studies and careers, should women settle for less, i.e., a man less intelligent and financially privileged than they are?
Again, here are the statistics: the latest data from the PSA showed that marriage in the Philippines declined by 1.3 percent, and has been declining since 2009.
Parents may be partly complicit in giving rise to this problem.
Gone are the days when parents told their daughters to study in secretarial school and just marry a rich man. These days, parents tell their daughters to focus, focus, focus on their studies, so that they can get into a reputable university and graduate with honors.
They are encouraged to work hard so they could land high-paying jobs and head up companies, or even run for public office.
Of course, parents still gently remind their daughters not to forget their social skills and foster relationships with men, but only with those who measure up to their daughter’s skills and abilities, as well. You don’t hear parents telling their precious hijas to go ahead and marry the janitor “because he’s nice.”
And with good reason. Data from the NSO survey as of 2012 shows that the average annual income earned by a household led by a female is P258,000 versus a male-led household of P228,000. And while a female-led household spends more at P207,000 on an annual average compared to a male-led household at P188,000 (yes, we do need all those shoes!), a female-led household has more average annual savings at P51,000 versus a male-led household with just P39,000.
So what are women supposed to do? I have no idea. Because as far I can tell, the problem isn’t with us. All these awesomely brilliant single women wish they could meet their own George Clooney—the famous actor who dated a series of bimbos and more, but eventually married brainy human-rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin. (It helps that she also has the face, body and style to match her brain. And let’s not forget, the pedigree as well—her father is from a wealthy Lebanese family, while her mother is a former journalist who set up her own public relations firm.)
I could tell the men to shape up by earning a college degree, get a better job, and build up a fat bank account. But you know men, they don’t like being told what to do.
I hope that all the young single ladies eventually find the man of their dreams. But even if they don’t, it’s not the end of the world. Being a single woman these days doesn’t carry as much stigma as before. And many single women are quite content pursuing their career, traveling the world, adopting children, or running charities—in short, being fulfilled.