Module 3 Gender, Work and Society lecture notes. PDF

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MODULE 3GENDER ISSUES IN THE ECONOMYLesson Objectives:This module discusses gender equality, and labor. This covers the policies on gender equality in the labor market. Further, this module tackles status of gender equality in the various sector of the labor market.At the end of this module, you sho...

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MODULE 3 GENDER ISSUES IN THE ECONOMY Lesson Objectives: This module discusses gender equality, and labor. This covers the policies on gender equality in the labor market. Further, this module tackles status of gender equality in the various sector of the labor market. At the end of this module, you should be able to: 1. Analyze the relationship of gender, gender equality and labor; 2. Determine the status of gender equality in the various sectors of the labor market; and 3. Comprehend salient policies on gender equality in the labor market. Definition of terms: 1. Labor-activities pertaining to developing goods and delivering services for economic reasons 2. Workforce- a sector in the population engaged in economic and productive Activities 3.1. GENDER ISSUES AND LABOR Introduction Gender equality is at the heart of the ILO’s Decent Work agenda, the aim of which is “to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity” (ILO, 1999). The aim of the ILO’s Decent Work agenda is for all workers –both women and men– are to benefit from more “decent” jobs and income. True decent work could only be assured in a society that would allow labour markets to provide equal opportunities and equitable living incomes to various social groups, regardless of personal attributes – be they biological, social, religious, or political. The Magna Carta of Women enacted in 2009 is comprehensive women’s human rights law that seeks to eliminate discrimination against women by recognizing, protecting, fulfilling and promoting the rights of Filipino women, especially those in marginalized sector. This act recognizes that equality of men and women entails the abolition of unequal structures and practices that perpetuate discrimination and inequality (PCW). In connection with employment, the Philippine Commission on Women indicate that the Magna Carta of Women will level the playing field by making productive resources and economic opportunities equally available for both men and women. Despite of different campaigns awareness laws enacted in Gender equality and Equity We cannot deny the fact that women in the Philippines face different from men in the in the Labor

market. It is further noted that generally, women do not control family properties and decisionmaking right on the use of income, further limiting opportunities to break the poverty cycle. It is rooted in the patriarchal system where men are traditionally believed to be the main breadwinners while women are more responsible for child rearing and tied to their traditional role as a mother, wife and a housekeeper. Stereotyping is prevalent in Filipino customs and traditions where children as they grow up the society dictates to do some specific task, for example girls are assigned to perform household chores like helping their mother in cooking, washing dishes and cleaning the house while boys are expected to help their father like fetching water, repair certain things, the distribution of labor is based on sex not on one’s capacity. And since women are expected to take care of family their education is less priority, Men are often send to school while women are expected to take care of their young siblings. Men and women should be given equal opportunity to learn or perform different skills based on their ability and interest to grow. Household task is not merely responsibility of women but the entire family members. The idea of no one must leave behind must be adapted in order to have a just and equal society. Employment Sector Agriculture In the Philippines, women are still strongly tied to their traditional roles as mother, wife, and housekeeper. In agricultural activities their primary task is to prepare food to be brought to the field during meal time or sometimes engaged in planting rice but women farmers do not have an equal opportunity to acquire land register to their own names. They have fewer inheritance rights than male farmers. Land ownership are important not only to women’s ability to earn income, but also as a source of empowerment and autonomy within the household. Their lack of land also affects their ability to gain to credit facilities. Industry and Manufacturing The number of women working in economic zones is estimated to represent 64% of total employment and may be much higher in some industries, such as electronics a (World Bank 2011a). Women's share of employment in the export-processing zone greater than women's share of the labor force as a whole, and the conditions of employment are of concern. Reports suggest that working and living conditions are poor, that women find it difficult to obtain work while pregnant and after the and after the birth of their baby, and that unionization uncommon. Tourism It appears that tourism planning has not included women or has had insufficient rice for gender issues. Within the tourism industry, relatively few women have the educational qualifications or foreign language skills to compete for front-of-house positions in the hotel

industry, as tour guides, or in travel agencies, and women are more likely to be employed housekeepers, waitresses, or similar low-level positions. Targeted educational programs could provide women with the necessary qualifications to climb the job ladder, which could progressively help to rectify the imbalance between work opportunities for men and women and eliminate gender gaps in tourism employment. Business Processing Outsourcing The Philippines' Information Technology-Business Process Outsourcing Road Map 20112016 is not gender-responsive and does not address women's constraints in accessing higher-paid work in non-voice services or the likely growth in information technology and engineering. These matters, as well as the pay differentials between men and women and employment conditions, require specific government attention. Manufacturing and Industry Sectors the Philippines has an export-oriented development strategy that is designed to promote economic growth through industrial production, manufacturing, and employment, while also taking advantage of resource endowments and creating supportive policies and laws. Women’s share in manufacturing employment has declined over the previous decade, along with a decline in absolute employment numbers. However, the past few years have shown a slight increase in absolute numbers, which is potentially indicative of a turnaround in the sector’s employment prospects. Most manufacturing is conducted in economic zones. The percentage of women working in such zones is estimated to be 64% and may be even higher in industries such as electronics and apparel. The overarching manufacturing policies are essentially gender blind, and the government appears to be crafting an integrated manufacturing plan to increase growth and diversification. Such a plan is needed to ensure identification of subsectors and products that can enhance women’s employment and that also make provisions to include rural women. Women’s involvement and interests should also be factored into all stages of the development of such a plan. Government Services Public sector employment is an important source of jobs with better pay conditions for women than many other industrial sectors, but women are constrained by being predominately employed in traditional gender stereotyped care sector government occupations such as health and education, and they are underrepresented in the higher paying subsectors. The Philippines has strong gender mainstreaming programs, which has given women greater access to government employment generally, but women in the civil sector may still underpaid, given their levels of education, experience, and ability. Entrepreneurship There has been a rapid surge in the number and proportion of female entrepreneurs in developing countries (Minniti and Naude 2010, 280). Studies indicate that female-led MSMEs increases employment opportunities for women and contribute to wider development goals nd ILO 2013a). One survey indicated that women entrepreneurs are more likely than be motivated

by necessity; these are livelihood-oriented entrepreneurs attempting to unemployment (Viet Nam Women Entrepreneurs Council 2007). Labor Laws that protect women in the Workplace. 1. The Philippines has ratified 34 ILO conventions and is party to all of the fundamental United Nations human rights covenants and conventions. 2. The country's 1987 Constitution has enshrined these rights in Section 3, Article XIII (Bill of Rights), and in Section 14, Article II, which ensures fundamental equality of women and men before the law. 3. Article 3, Chapter 1 of the Labor Code, as well as Republic Acts 6725, 7192, 7877, and 8551, all provide for fundamental human rights protection, including antidiscrimination provisions, and they ensure fundamental equality, prohibition of sexual harassment, and temporary special measures. The Philippines 4. Anti-Sexual Harassment Act No. 7877 of 8 February 1995 is an example of good legislative practice. 5. The Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act 9710) is an overall legislative framework that articulates the specific rights, needs, and support required by women in their general and working lives. Although the Magna Carta of Women provides a good legislative framework implementation issues remain. Filipino women often do not know about their rights, an the complaints system is confusing even if they do. 6. In 2012, the Philippines became the first country in Asia to ratify the ILO Domes Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189). In early 2013. President Aquino also signed a new tam Republic Act 10361 known as the "Batas Kasambahay" (Domestic Workers Act) in order better protect this large group of mostly young, female workers. Summary Gender, gender equality, and labor market are very important principles and are related to one another. Gender equality is not properly implemented in the labor mark as women still are treated with disfavor and discrimination. Policies are in place to address gender inequality, but still the issue persists and prevails even up to present. Gender equitable employment and decent work are necessary for achieving gender equality and inclusive growth.  Despite a variety of gender-responsive legal and policy initiatives, an assessment of the labour market in the Philippines reveals that although some gender gaps have been reduced, women still suffer from persistent gender deficits.  Some progress has been made in reducing the gender gap between men and women in the labour force participation rate, which now stands at 29 percentage points. The lower labour force participation rate of women, compared to that of men, represents an underutilisation of women’s labour in the paid labour market which arises from inferior

employment and decent work opportunities, human capital differences, and unpaid domestic labour and care constraints.  A gender gap in human capital reflects gender segregation in the types of training and education available to women which may constrain their labour force participation. The Philippines has achieved gender parity in primary and secondary education, but there are still qualitative differences due to gendered segregation in the types of training and tertiary education. 3.2. WOMEN’S ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT Introduction: Development is a process that creates growth, progress, positive change or the addition of physical, economic, environmental, social and demographic components. The purpose of development is a rise in the level and quality of life of the population, and the creation or expansion of local regional income and employment opportunities, without damaging the resources of the environment. Development is visible and useful, not necessarily immediately, and includes an aspect of quality change and the creation of conditions for a continuation of that change. This module discusses the three (3) distinctive models explaining how development affects women and why women and men are affected by development differently. Also, this module discusses the practical approaches to the development of women. At the end of this module, the student is expected to: 1. Analyze the principle, model, and concept of WID, WAD and GAD; 2. Distinguish the three (WID, WAD and GAD) from each other; and 3. Determine the importance of these three principles to national development Women in Development (WID) "By the 1970s, it became clear that women were being left out of development. They were not benefiting significantly from it and in some instances, their existing status and position in society were actually worsened by development. The Women in Development (WID) approached this issue-the exclusion of women from development program and approaches. WID saw women as a group that lacks The main task, therefore, was to improve women's access to resources and their participation in development. The WID approach emphasized the importance of the integration of women into development programs and planning. Accordingly, this was the best way to improve women's position in society. The WID approach, although it had limitations, increased the visibility of women in development issues. WID was successful in helping secure a prominent place for women's issues at the United Nations (UN) and other international development agencies. The UN declared that the decade of 1975 to 1985 to be one of the major achievements of the decade was the establishment of women in development structures or machineries. In Zambia, for instance, it was during this time that the Women's League of the then

ruling political party, United National Independence Party (UNIP), was formed as the national machinery to address women's development issue. Women and Development (WAD) As a result of criticisms of the WID approach, the Women and Development (WAD) approach arose in the latter part of the 1970s. Adopting a Marxist feminist approach, the main argument of WAD was that women had always been part of the development processes. WAD asserts that women have always been important economic actors. The work they do both inside and outside the household is critical to the maintenance of society. However, this integration has only served to sustain global inequalities. In other words, the WID approach that placed emphasis on integrating women into development was not correct. The main focus of WAD is on the interaction between women and development Women, as a result, were being increasingly associated with backwardness and the traditional while men were increasingly identified with modern and progressiveness. The Equity Approach Feminist calls for gender equality were important in bringing about this approach, the main aim of which was to eliminate discrimination. It emphasized the re-valuing of women's contribution and share of benefits from development. The equity approach also dealt with both the productive and reproductive roles as a responsibility of government. The equity approach, in contrast to the welfare approach, saw women as active participants organizing to bring about necessary changes. The Anti-Poverty Approach This approach focuses on both the productive and reproductive role of women with an emphasis on satisfaction of basic needs and the productivity of women. A key operational strategy required access to income generation and waged employment. The tendency with this approach was to reinforce the basic needs and ignore the strategic needs of women. The Efficiency Approach The efficiency approach aims to have increased production and economic growth with an emphasis on full use of human resources. Advocates of this approach argue that gender analysis makes good economic sense. This is because understanding men's and women's roles and responsibilities as part of the planning of development activities helps improve effectiveness and ensures that women, as well as men, can play their part in national development. The efficiency approach succeeded in bringing the concerns about women and gender into the mainstream of development. However, this was done with a focus on what women could do for development, rather than on what development could do for women. The Empowerment Approach The aim of the empowerment approach is to increase the self-reliance of women and to influence change at the policy, legislative, societal, economic, and other levels to their advantage.

Its main strategy is awareness-raising and situates women firmly as active participants in ensuring change takes place. The empowerment approach has been instrumental in ensuring that opportunities are opened for women to determine their own needs. However, empowerment has often been misunderstood to be an end rather than a means. This has resulted in poor women becoming very knowledgeable about issues while realizing little change to their material situation, which is often dire. Summary  Development is the process in which someone or something grows or changes and becomes more advanced.  Women in Development approach of development projects that emerged in the 1960s, calling for treatment of women's issues in development projects. WAD: Women and Development  WAD is a “neo-Marxist feminist approach” and it grew out of the “limitations of modernization theory” that was foundational in the WID approach (Rathgeber, 1990, p.492). The WAD approach comes from the perspective that equality will be essential to improving women’s positions, but still frames change in terms of providing women access to the productive sector (p.493).  The WID approach was introduced primarily by “American liberal feminists” and focuses on egalitarianism, especially in terms of economic participation and access (Rathgeber, 1990, p.490). This economic focus led WID activists to address the disparity of employment opportunities between men and women in the majority world.  The GAD , which was developed in the 1980s, stepped away from both WID and WAD and was founded in socialist-feminist ideology (Rathgeber, 1990, p.493). The GAD approach holds that the oppression of women stems largely from a neoliberal focus on improving women’s reproductive and productive capacities (p.494). According to Rathgeber, the focus of GAD has been to examine “why women systematically have been assigned to inferior and/or secondary roles” and also to confront questions of power and agency (p.494). WID, WAD, and GAD evolved towards achieving women empowerment since the mid19th century and up to present. Aside from that, several practical approaches had been utilized to underscore the role of women in nation-building and vice versa. The evolution of these theories and approaches only state that women empowerment is a developing principle, alongside development of the country. 3.3. GENDER ISSUES IN AGRICULTURE Introduction Agriculture is an essential industry that provides most of the world’s food supply and all other agricultural products essential for humans and animals. It is a purposeful work where the diverse activities are mostly performed by men. Women also play a vital role in the overall agricultural production of plant and animals, processing and marketing. This section provides an overview of the importance of gender in agriculture and environment. It also tackles some of the important gender issues in agriculture and policies that may address issues of gender inequalities in agriculture.

Intended Learning Outcomes At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to: 1. understand the importance of gender in agriculture and environment. 2. identify gender issues in agriculture. 3. study the various gender policies in agriculture and rural women empowerment. Overview of Agriculture Agriculture is a systematic raising useful plants and livestock under the management of man. It is a purposeful work through which the elements of nature are harnessed to produce plants and animals to meet human needs. The Philippines is primarily an agriculture driven economy. It consists of crop production, livestock farming, fisheries and forestry. According to World Bank, agriculture comprises around 9.5 percent of GDP for all developing countries, while 26.0 percent for the least developed and 17.6 percent in South Asia and 17.4 percent in Sub-Saharan Afric...