...the most gender equal nations

Women on top: Phl among most gender equal nations

            

By Camille Diola

(philstar.com) 

Updated April 19, 2013

 

File photo from the World Bank Photo Collection.

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - The World Bank identified the Philippines as a world leader in gender equality, particularly in the fields of legislation, management and government.

In its World Development Indicators report released on Thursday, the international organization cited latest data showing that 55 percent of Filipino lawmakers, senior officials and managers are female.

The number, taken from 2007 to 2011 statistics, is the highest in the World Bank report with data from 88 countries.

The Philippines is among the two only countries in the world with more women than men in the said professions, using the International Labour Organization's standard classification of occupations.

Although the report said that gender inequality is most prevalent in developing countries, the Philippines, a lower middle income nation, is one exception.

"The share of women in high-skilled occupations ... indicates women's status and role in the labor force and society at large," the report explained.

Following the Philippines' lead is The Bahamas, a chain of island in the Caribbean, with 52 percent of leaders who are female.

Barbados, another island country in the Caribbean, is in relatively far third with 47 percent.

Ranking fourth is Latvia with women landing in 45 percent of top occupations, while the Cayman Islands are fifth with 44 percent.

The United States, the largest economy in the world, is tied with Latin American country Puerto Rico with 43 percent.

Indonesia, one of the Philippines' peer in Southeast Asis for one, only records 22 percent of high government and business positions given to women.

The world's most gender unequal nations in the world include those that have a dominant Muslim population, the lowest being Pakistan with women occupying only 3 percent of seats in legislation, governance and management.

Also at the bottom of the scale are Azerbaijan (7 percent), Lebanon (8 percent) and Saudi Arabia (8 percent).

"These patterns of inequality begin at an early age, with boys routinely receiving a larger share of education and health spending than girls, for example," World Bank said in the report.

The study, World Bank said, is a compilation of "relevant, high-quality and internationally comparable statistics about global development."

Other indicators cited in the report under people development are prevalence of malnutrition, HIV, unemployment and underemployment, as well as maternal mortality, adolescent fertility and under-five mortality.

 

...the PH biggest asset

Filipinos are PH's biggest asset - ILO chief

 

By Niña Corpuz,

ABS-CBN News

12/17/2012

 

 

ILO Director General Guy Ryder (L). Photo courtesy of ILO

MANILA, Philippines – The head of the International Labor Organization believes the Philippines' best asset is none other than the Filipino people.

“I think the biggest potential of the Philippines is its people, not only here in the Philippines but (around the world). Wherever I've lived I've always met Filipinos working, contributing to society's progress, and I think that dynamism is your best asset,” ILO Director General Guy Ryder said in an interview.

Ryder's visit to the Philippines is his first since he was elected as ILO Director General last October 2012. The last visit of ILO's highest official to the country was 17 years ago, in 1995.

Ryder extended his sympathies and help to the victims of typhoon Pablo in the southern Philippines.

The ILO estimates about 2.3 million workers, mostly in the Davao region, have been directly affected by the typhoon.

Most of the victims are women aged 15 to 24, and vulnerable family workers like farmers, fisherfolk or street vendors.

Ryder said the ILO has set aside initial funding of US$50,000 or 2 million pesos to jumpstart a livelihood program in partnership with the government.

“We try to help people get back to work with cash-for-work schemes. We try to help in the reconstruction process for infrastructure and also local economic development, to get communities together, to give them a new livelihood prospect. I think we have a big responsibility and a really helpful role to play,” he said.

Protection of domestic workers

Ryder's visit was also timely as the president was about to sign into law the Domestic Workers or Kasambahay bill that was finally ratified by Congress after 15 years.

Ryder hopes the bill will finally recognize this workforce he described as "invisible".

“People somehow think that because (domestic workers) work in private homes, they're not part of public policy. The first step is to make people aware that (domestic workers) are workers like every other worker in the world. They make great contributions, (and) if they stop working the world comes to a stop,” he said.

Danger of jobless growth

On the country's economic growth, Ryder said the 7.5 percent increase in this year's third quarter was respectable. But he also agreed with the notion that it's a jobless growth not felt by ordinary workers.

“I think what really matters is not simply the numbers of jobs created but the quality of jobs created. We see a lot of what we call vulnerable jobs in the Philippines, jobs which don't really provide a sure and stable livelihood for people in the long term. You see a lot of poor people, they're working but they remain poor. The whole purpose of (the ILO’s) decent work agenda is to get people into decent quality employment that renders a good standard of living and good social protection,” he said.

This reality is even more apparent as Christmas approaches. Children flock the streets begging and working to help earn a living. A 2011 survey by the National Statistics Office shows that there are 5.5 million working children aged 5 to 7 years old.

“Providing decent work alternatives for people whose kids go to work is extraordinarily important.

We have to do provide social protection for families, so that work doesn't appear as a social obligation and that there are alternatives for young people,” he said.

Decline in trade unions

Another area of concern for the ILO is the decline in trade union membership in the country. He said trade unions are necessary to fight for the rights of workers.

Ryder said the decline in trade union membership is not unique to the Philippines.

“We are seeing in many countries around the world a decline in trade union membership, and it’s got many factors to it. I think the ILO’s job is to provide an enabling environment, an encouraging environment (for workers to organize) and also to make the case to governments and businesses that an organized workforce is actually an advantage,” he said.

...the PH law students in ILO

Pinoy law students win top prize in ILO video contest

ABS-CBNnews.com

 06/11/2012

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - Three Filipino law students took home the top prize in a worldwide video contest organized by the International Labor Organisation (ILO).
The entry submitted by Alfonso Orioste, Jr., Janeca Naboya and Gian Carlo Miranda beat out hundreds of entries from around the world. The contest, which was open to individuals or groups ages 18-29, was aimed to show how the global economic crisis affected the lives of the youth.

Based on a statement issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the team's winning video entry "Listen to my Story" is about Janet, a Filipina teacher who is forced by circumstance to seek employment as a domestic worker in the Middle East. 

The team received the prize during ILO's Youth Employment Forum held in Geneva, Switzerland from May 23 to 25. 

Orioste, Naboya and Miranda are currently students of the law schools of San Beda College, Lyceum of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University, respectively.

...the PH economic growth

Philippines on right track on economic growth

 

By Philip C. Tubeza in Kyoto

Philippine Daily Inquirer | ANN – Mon, Dec 5, 2011

 

Kyoto (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - The Philippines is on the right track by focusing on "inclusive growth¿ but many problems remain, a ranking International Labor Organization official said yesterday as the ILO opened a major regional meeting here on how to protect jobs and economic growth amid the global financial crisis.

Jeff Johnson, ILO country director for the Philippines, commended the Aquino administration for focusing on "inclusive growth¿ and developing the agriculture sector, adding that the country had a lot to share with its neighbors during the ILO's 15th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM), which will go on until Wednesday.

"I think it is very important for the Philippines to highlight especially what the administration has been bringing on¿inclusive growth. This ties very much with what we've been speaking about in the ILO from the inception of the crisis ¿that we're facing a paradigm shift,¿ said Johnson in an interview.

"We've been talking about this shift for a long time... that we need to focus not so much on the level of economic growth within the country (but), more importantly, how that growth is achieved,¿ he said.

"I think the Philippines has a lot to add to the region to help others understand its growth path and its paradigm shift that I see taking place here,¿ he added.

Very impressed

Johnson said he was "very impressed¿ with the Aquino administration's approaches to tackling poverty, particularly its cash transfer program for the poor.

"I think the Philippines has a very unique knowledge base. Again, people still look to the Philippines in terms of migration issues, in terms of seafarers, in terms of how to address issues, including young people or special groups into the discussion,¿ he said.

"Again, the Philippines has very unique advantages from the regional perspective that will allow it to contribute (to discussions at the meeting),¿ he said.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz was scheduled to lead the Philippine delegation to the conference, which will be attended by around 30 other labor and employment ministers.

Economic uncertainty

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda gave the keynote address yesterday afternoon when the meeting opened at the Kyoto International Convention Center.

The conference comes at a time of "extreme economic uncertainty and amid growing concern that, while the region's economic performance remains positive, it will not be immune to the turbulence affecting its key export markets,¿ the ILO said.

"The existing unbalanced growth cannot continue. It has failed to deliver jobs of the quality and quantity needed to assure women and men and their families a decent life,¿ said ILO director general Juan Somavia.

"Today, unemployment levels in Asia and the Pacific have yet to reach the precrisis low of 76.9 million in 2007. Nearly 60 percent of the region's workers are in vulnerable employment. We need a model of growth that is more socially and economically efficient,¿ he said.

Somavia said the "crisis of youth employment¿ needed "urgent action¿ with young people making up around 20 percent of the region's population "but are half of the jobless.¿

"The Philippines, being still a relatively young democracy, you have a voice and what (the Philippine delegation) can share is their experiences, both positive and negative. You still have such a wealth of knowledge and experience,¿ Johnson said.

Agriculture development

He also singled out the Aquino administration's focus on developing agriculture and public-private partnerships as an engine for economic growth.

"In the Philippines' plans, agriculture is playing a very important role and it's not just about growing something but also how you add value to that processing. There is much focus on improving productivity and efficiency in agriculture,¿ Johnson said.

"You have companies in Mindanao like Dole Fruits¿that has basically helped the Philippines become the number one producer of pineapples¿and canneries and packaging, etc., that create more jobs and again that's all agriculture-based,¿ he said.

Vulnerable employment

"If you look at the administration, they've played up on that very well. I think this administration has a number of things that they're moving forward with that are very supportive of economic and inclusive growth,¿ he added.

Johnson also said, however, that many problems remained in the labor sector, like the high rate of vulnerable employment in the country.

"Vulnerable employment in the Philippines stands at 40.2 percent and it's going down very slowly. Those workers are own-account workers or unpaid family workers, small-scale farmers, peasant farmers, petty traders or those who work in food stalls,¿ Johnson said.

"Those workers lack social protection, no social security mechanism in place, and they probably have no PhilHealth. They have very little protection for their occupational safety and in health regulations, and clearly no collective bargaining,¿ he said.

According to the ILO's Asia-Pacific Labor Market Update that was released last week, "some progress¿ in employment creation in the Philippines "was unable to prevent¿ a higher unemployment of 7.1 percent.¿

"The economy struggled to generate sufficient jobs to match its expanding labor force of nearly one million new labor market entrants in the last year,¿ the ILO report said.