WOMEN who get married are increasingly leaving the workplace, according to a recent study by the National Economic and Development Authority. Many of these women, Neda adds, are of the childbearing age of 25 to 29 years old.
Neda wanted to determine the factors in convincing a woman to work outside the home as it noticed that the labor force participation rate of Filipinas remained “stagnant.” In the past two decades, it said, their participation rate stayed between 49 percent and 50 percent. Last year, the rate fell even further at only 46 percent of the employable women in the country. This is the lowest rate in Southeast Asia, it noted.
Estimates by the International Labor Organization indicated that the Philippines’s labor participation rate for women “was lower than the Muslim neighboring countries of Malaysia at 51 percent, Indonesia at 52 percent and Brunei Darussalam at 58 percent, and was way below that of the Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam which had female labor-force participation rates of at least 73 percent in 2018. Thailand and Singapore, also had higher female labor force participation rates at 59 and 61 percent, respectively.”
The study showed the reduction in the female labor force participation across all levels of education, although women who had finished college education had the most inclination to keep working outside their home. Cultural and religious factors also kept married women, especially those with children, at home.
“The presence of young children aged three years and below is associated negatively with labor-force participation for women, and is not significantly related with men’s labor-force participation.” On the other hand, once the kids start school, more women begin to work, “which may indicate the need for women to augment family income to defray for educational expenditures,” according to the study.
“Iba po kasi ang lalaki. Ang lalaki naghihingi pa ng tulong, puro salita din. Pero ang babae ang gumagalaw sa pag-aasikaso sa anak. Kagaya noon nasa ospital kami, ’yong asawa ko sabi sa akin, ‘Puntahan mo ’yong anak mo, paki ano mo sa nurse.’ Ako ang inuutusan niya. Siya hanggang salita lang, pero siya ’yong matapang. Natataranta din ako pero ako yong gumagalaw—lakad ng lakad kung saan, bili ng gamot,” said one housewife interviewed for the study.
Muslim women were also, most likely, to stay home than work.
The study pointed to the lack of affordable and trusted child care services as a reason women withdraw from the work force. Many have to rely on parents or in-laws for help in childrearing but for the most part, the housewives interviewed are unable to get good househelp. One narrated that the nanny they got stayed with them for four years but in the end, stole money and jewelry from their family.
Traffic jams and difficulty commuting have also been cited as a reason for women to leave the work force.
“Noong ako ay nagtatrabaho, naranasan ko na hindi mag-MRT kasi siksikan ang MRT. Nag-commute ako sa bus, alas dose ang time ko, pero alas dos na nakarating sa Taguig, late na rin po. Automatic absent na or automatic kaltas na ’yon. Buti hindi na ako nagtatrabaho ngayon kasi nakikita ko, pagbaba ko pa lang ng hagdan, sukong-suko na ako. Buntis pa ako nun sa panganay ko, walang nagbibigay ng upuan sa MRT,” said another housewife.
The study showed more women were employed in the services and manufacturing sectors, and less in “industries that require more cognitive skills than physical strength.”
Much work needs to be done to counter existing stereotypes of working women. Educational materials, for one, reinforce the thinking that couples need to stay together, so mothers will have more time to stay with their children.
“I am separated from my partner. My child says it could have been better if his father and I were together because then I would not have to work and I could spend more time for them. His perception is influenced by the books he reads in school,” said an officer of an online freelancing firm.
Neda recommends “a review of educational learning materials and storybooks in early childhood to promote gender equality. An extended paternity leave and additional parental leave will give husbands a fair share of caring for their babies. Stronger implementation of laws governing access to childcare services in government and support for bills requiring day-care facilities in the private sector will be needed.”
The agency also suggests the need to strengthen the enforcement of Republic Act 11165, or the Telecommuting Act, which allows employers to offer staff the choice to work from an alternative workplace.
Said one entrepreneur, “It is better to work online from home than to work in a call center. Because it is home based and I do not need to spend too much on clothing, makeup and other personal effects.”
In Western countries, employers are already reaping the benefits from letting their employees work from home in terms of increased productivity, improved work quality, reduction in office requirements, higher retention of employees, among others. (Read “10 Benefits of Telecommuting for Employers” https://bit.ly/2DttKSX.)
The Neda study highlighted the importance of investing in the education of women so they could go to college and graduate.
It also recommends further strengthening of measures to counter discrimination in the workplace, especially for Muslim women.
Last, the agency noted the need “to spur investments in both the manufacturing and services sectors, and to eliminate barriers to women’s participation in their preferred occupation.”
An old Chinese proverb says, “Women hold up half the sky.” For a country to fully expand its economy and achieve its targets, more women must join the work force. A company benefits from having a wider choice of experiences, skills and talents that women bring to the table. Women must be afforded the proper support in terms of education, family and government policies to be able to attain their personal career goals.