GENDER EQUALITY

I. INTRODUCTION DEFINITION OF TERMS

Gender refers to the social attributes and opportunities associated with being male and female and the relationships between women and men and girls and boys, as well as the relations between women and those between men. These attributes, opportunities and relationships are socially constructed and are learned through socialization processes. They are context/time-specific and changeable. Sex describes the biological differences between men and women, which are universal and determined at birth. Gender Equality means when women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including economic participation and decision-making, and when the different behaviors, aspirations and needs of women and men are equally valued and favored. Gender Equity is the process of being fair to men and women. To ensure fairness, measures must often be put in place to compensate for the historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from operating on a level playing field. Empowerment is about people -both women and men- taking control over their lives: setting their own agendas, gaining skills, building self-confidence, solving problems and developing self-reliance. Gender Mainstreaming a strategy for making womens as well as mens concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated.

OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR GENDER EQUALITY The Millennium Project task force forMDG-3 adopted an operational framework to clarify and define the concept of gender equality, drawing strongly on rights-based and human development perspectives, and demonstrating the interrelationships of these three paradigms. The framework involves three domains in which equality between men and women is an intrinsic component of development: 1. The capabilities domain, which refers to basic human abilities as measured by education, health and nutrition. These capabilities are fundamental to individual

well-being and are the means through which individuals access other forms of well-being. 2. The access to resources and opportunities domain, which refers primarily to equality in the opportunity to use or apply basic capabilities through access to economic assets (such as land or housing) and resources (such as income and employment), as well as political opportunity (such as representation in parliaments and other political bodies).Without access to resources and opportunities, both political and economic, women will be unable to employ their capabilities for their well-being and that of their families, communities and societies. 3. The security domain, which is defined to mean reduced vulnerability to violence and conflict. Violence and conflict result in physical and psychological harm and lessen the ability of individuals, households and communities to fulfill their potential. Violence directed specifically at women and girls often aims at keeping them in their place through fear. SEVEN STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FOR ACTION ON MDG-3 GOAL 3. PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN TARGET 4. Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015. 1. Strengthen opportunities for post primary education for girls while simultaneously meeting commitments to universal primary education. 2. Guarantee sexual and reproductive health and rights. 3. Invest in infrastructure to reduce womens and girls time burdens. 4. Guarantee womens and girls property and inheritance rights. 5. Eliminate gender inequality in employment by decreasing womens reliance on informal employment, closing gender gaps in earnings, and reducing occupational segregation. 6. Increase womens share of seats in national parliaments and local governmental bodies. 7. Combat violence against girls and women

II. MEASUREMENT OF GENDER EQUALITY Gender equality is measured by looking at the representation of men and of women in a range of roles. A number of international comparative gender equality indices have been prepared and these offer a way to compare Irelands achievements with those of other countries. Each index looks at a distinct list of parameters and the choice of parameters affects the outcome for each country. UNITED NATIONS GENDER INEQUALITY INDEX The United Nations Gender Inequality Index is based on the premise that "all too often, women and girls are discriminated against in health, education and the labour market with negative repercussions for their freedom". The UN GII is a measure of inequalities based on these inequalities. SOCIAL WATCH GENDER EQUITY INDEX Social Watch is a network comprised by national coalitions of civil society organizations and it too prepares a gender equality index, based on the gap between women and men in education, the economy and political empowerment. WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM GLOBAL GENDER PAY GAP INDEX The Global Gender Gap Index, 1 introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, is a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. The Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education and health criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups, and over time. The rankings are designed to create greater awareness among a global audience of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them. The methodology and quantitative analysis behind the rankings are intended to serve as a basis for designing effective measures for reducing gender gaps. The Global Gender Gap Index examines the gap between men and women in four fundamental categories (subindexes): Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival and Political Empowerment. a. Economic Participation and Opportunity This subindex is captured through three concepts: the participation gap, the remuneration gap and the advancement gap. The participation gap is captured using the difference in labour force participation rates. The remuneration gap is captured through a hard data indicator (ratio of estimated female-to-male earned income) and a qualitative variable calculated through the World Economic Forums Executive Opinion Survey (wage equality for similar work). Finally, the gap between the advancement of women and men is captured through two hard data statistics (the ratio of women to men among legislators, senior officials and managers, and the ratio of women to men among technical and professional workers).

b. Educational Attainment In this subindex, the gap between womens and mens current access to education is captured through ratios of women to men in primary-, secondaryand tertiary-level education. A longer-term view of the countrys ability to educate women and men in equal numbers is captured through the ratio of the female literacy rate to the male literacy rate. c. Health and Survival This subindex provides an overview of the differences between womens and mens health. To do this, we use two indicators. The first is the sex ratio at birth, which aims specifically to capture the phenomenon of missing women prevalent in many countries with a stron g son preference. Second, we use the gap between womens and mens healthy life expectancy, calculated by the World Health Organization. This measure provides an estimate of the number of years that women and men can expect to live in good health by taking into account the years lost to violence, disease, malnutrition or other relevant factors. d. Political Empowerment This subindex measures the gap between men and women at the highest level of political decision-making, through the ratio of women to men in minister-level positions and the ratio of women to men in parliamentary positions. In addition, we include the ratio of women to men in terms of years in executive office (prime minister or president) for the last 50 years. A clear drawback in this category is the absence of any indicators capturing differences between the participation of women and men at local levels of government. Should such data become available at a global level in future years, they will be considered for inclusion in the Global Gender Gap Index. REPORT ON 2013 GLOBAL GENDER GAP INDEX

TOP TEN COUNTRIES: 1. Iceland holds the top spot for the fifth consecutive year, continuing to boast the narrowest gender gap in the world. Icelands overall score moves up due to improvements in economic participation and opportunity, as well as political empowerment. 2. Finland continues to hold the second position despite slight losses in its overall score due to a decrease in economic opportunity and participation. 3. Norway follows next, with a light increase in its overall score. Norway has just appointed a female prime minister, Erna Solberg, and is also one of the top 10 countries for the number of years during which it has had a female head of state. 4. Sweden continues to hold the fourth position. Although no country has yet achieved gender equality, all of the Nordic countries, with the exception of Denmark, have closed over 80% of the gender gap. On the whole, these economies have made it possible for parents to combine work and family, resulting in more women in the workforce, shared childcare and a better work-life balance for both women and men. 5. The Philippines moves up three places this year due to small improvements in economic participation and opportunity. The highest-ranking country from Asia, Philippines is 10th overall for political empowerment and is the only country in Asia and the Pacific to have fully closed the gender gap in both education and health. 6. Ireland slipped one place this year due to losses in economic participation and opportunity, though it remains the highest European country outside the group of Nordic economies. 7. New Zealand moved down one place, mainly due to a decrease in wages women are paid for doing similar work to men. 8. Denmark lost one place in the overall ranking this year despite an improvement in political empowerment. 9. Switzerland moved up one spot due to increases in womens salaries.

10. Nicaragua continues to be the only country from Latin America and the Caribbean in the top 10 overall best performers.

REGIONAL PERFORMANCE ON THE GLOBAL GENDER GAP INDEX 2013

GENDER GAP INDEX INDICATORS 2013 ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION AND OPPORTUNITY

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

HEALTH AND SURVIVAL

POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT

III. FACTORS AND PROGRESS IN GENDER EQUALITY FACTORS: 1. Educational Attainment a. Poverty and low literacy rate 2. Economic Participation and Opportunity a. Wage gaps. Pay differentials remain one of the most persistent forms of gender inequality. They vary between and within countries, as well as across sectors. b. Social and legal protection for the most vulnerable women workers. Migrant and informal economy women workers comprise a significant portion of the female labour force and require both gender-responsive laws and social protection policies. c. Attention to the impact of child labour particularly girls labour is critical 3. Political Participation a. Creating an even playing field within political parties. Political parties are the main route to political participation, so ensuring womens represe ntation and advancement within them is crucial.

PROGRESS: GENDER PARITY IN EDUCATION 1. Elimination of user fees. Eliminating user fees for primary education has contributed significantly to the improvement of female enrolment in a number of countries, including in sub-Saharan Least Developed Countries46. User fees are a particular barrier to school attendance for children from poor and/or rural households, girls, orphans, and children with disabilities. The abolition of fees functions most effectively when part of a broad government commitment to achieving free universal primary education. 2. Demand-side financing mechanisms. The World Bank has introduced stipends, targeted vouchers, bursaries and other demand-side financing mechanisms in 30 countries to encourage the enrolment of poor children and girls at all levels of education in an effort to offset the indirect opportunity costs. 3. Community and NGO managed schools. Community schools are playing an important role in some West African countries such as Chad and Mali, as well as in parts of Asia. Community schools are financed by parents in contexts where the state is unable to provide public education. They may also receive some assistance from the public sector, such as the provision of materials or teachers. 4. More female teachers. Nepal has made steady progress in reducing the gender disparity in primary education. It made a provision that at least one female teacher be recruited for every primary school and stipulated that at least one woman had to be a member of the management committees of institutional and community schools, village management committees and district education committees. GENDER PARITY IN ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION AND OPPORTUNITY 1. Positive action in employment programmes. In 2005, the Indian Government passed the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which resulted in the creation of the worlds largest social safety net programme based on the right to work. The law guarantees 100 days of employment on rural public works projects to a member of every rural household, and one-third of the workers are intended to be women. The programme allows a multiple number of eligible members to register on one job 2. Supporting womens entrepreneurship growth. Self-employment is another strategy for the economic empowerment of women and their families as it provides an important option for many entering work for the first time in developing countries. Since women face barriers in access to credit, training and technology 3. Benchmarking standards for gender equality in the private sector . Women in the labour market in middle income countries are often relegated to dead-end jobs with poor salaries and working conditions. A growing number of initiatives are creating a more conducive environment for women workers in the private sector by introducing gender equality seals or accreditation processes. 4. Genderresponsive service delivery. Essential for the achievement of the MDGs in developing countries is the expansion and effective delivery of basic public services. This poses a major challenge for local governments in particular, as they tend to lack the resources and capacity needed to ensure that all citizens receive basic

necessities. Many countries, particularly in Africa, are currently implementing decentralization reforms which add to this challenge. As more responsibility is placed on local governments, they are having difficulty meeting the growing demand alone and are turning to other actors, including the private sector, resulting in a growing number of public-private partnerships (PPPs). GENDER PARITY IN POLITICAL REPRESENTATION 1. Positive action and quotas. Constitutional or electoral laws mandating quotas or special temporary measures are the strongest means of incr easing womens engagement in political competition and are used in 46 countries. 2. Proportional Representation (PR). Electoral systems are a strong predictor of the number of women in representative politics. PR often allows more women to compete and win than in simple majority systems. This is because they tend to have multi-member constituencies where seats are assigned in proportion to the percentage of votes won by the parties, which encourage more diversity in party platforms and candidates.

IV. GLOBAL COMMITMENT THAT ADDRESS GENDER EQUALITY a. THE UNDP GENDER EQUALITY STRATEGY (GES) is grounded in the premise that the development objective of equality between men and women, or gender equality, is absolutely indivisible from the UNDP human development goal of real improvements in peoples lives, and in the choices and opportunities open to them UNDP 8-Point Agenda for Womens Empowerment and Gender Equality In Crisis Prevention and Recovery 1. Strengthen Womens Security in Crisis 2. Advance Gender Justice 3. Expand Womens Citizenship, Participation and Leadership 4. Build Peace with and for women 5. Promote Gender Equality in Disaster Risk Reduction 6. Ensure Gender-Responsive Recovery 7. Transform Government to Deliver for women 8. Develop Capacities for Social Change. b. CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW) known as the International Bill of Rights of Women, the only human rights treaty which affirms the reproductive rights of women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations. It affirms women's rights to acquire, change or retain their nationality and the nationality of their children.

c. BEIJING DECLARATION AND PLATFORM FOR ACTION the Platform reflects a new international commitment to the goals of equality, development and peace for all women everywhere. d. CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD (CRC) is the most widely and rapidly ratified human rights treaty in history. It includes protection of children from early and forced marriage, recognition of adulthood as 18 years, rights to education. e. UN MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS it contains a statement of values, principles and eight specific goals with related targets that constitute an international agenda for the twenty-first century. Goal 3 is to promote gender equality and empower women. f. DECLARATION ON THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN defines violence against women and calls on states to take specific measures against it.
g. THE UN SYSTEM-WIDE POLICY ON GENDER EQUALITY AND THE

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN it describes the steps needed to achieve the agreed goals through results-based management, accountability frameworks, capacity development, monitoring and evaluation, and allocation of sufficient resources, all supported by effective knowledge and information management and dissemination.

V. PHILIPPINE SETTING PHILIPPINE GENDER GAP INDEX 2013

Philippines moves up three places this year due to small improvements in the Economic Participation and Opportunity sub Indexes. Philippines ranks 10th on the Political Empowerment sub index and remains the highest-ranking country from Asia in the Index. Philippines is the only country in Asia and the Pacific that has fully closed the gender gap in both education and health.

VI. GENDER ISSUES Gender-based violence is a form of discrimination that seriously inhibits womens ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men. Genderbased violence, which impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of human rights and fundamental freedoms under general international law or under human rights conventions, is discrimination within the meaning of Article 1 of (CEDAW). Violence against women within the general community includes battery, rape, and sexual assault, forced treatments and the exploitation and commercialization of womens bodies. THREE LEVELS OF VIOLENCE Violence within the Home: domestic violence is the most prevalent form of genderbased violence. It typically occurs when a man beats his female partner. Violence Against Women within the General Community: Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community include battery, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment and intimidation in school or work, forced treatments and abusive medication. Violence Against Women Perpetrated by the State: Physical, sexual and psychological violence are too often perpetrated or tolerated by states that priorities custom or tradition over the respect of fundamental freedom. NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD (NSCB) REPORT 2013 ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

PHILIPPINE INITIATIVES TO ELIMINATE VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN AND WOMEN (VAWC) 1. ANTI-VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN ACT OF 2004. It penalizes all forms of abuse and violence within the family and intimate relationships. The Act classifies violence against women and children (VAWC) as a public crime. 2. One of the more noteworthy features of the province's ordinances is the BARANGAY PROTECTION ORDER (BPO) which may be issued by the barangay chair upon petition of the victim. 3. COALITION AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN focus on the issues of prostitution and trafficking both locally and internationally. 4. MAGNA CARTA FOR WOMEN (MCW) comprehensive womens 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. AGENCIES THAT HELP TO MITIGATE VAWC 1. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE ROLE OF FILIPINO WOMEN (NCRFW), a government body, is expected to monitor and report on how the government answers its women constituents. 2. PHILIPPINE COMMISSION ON WOMEN 3. DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT 4. NGOS (NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF TEACHERS AND OFFICE WORKERS (SMP-NATOW) was instrumental in researching female teachers' migration. The ALLIANCE OF CONCERNED TEACHERS (ACT) was influential in reviewing gender bias in textbooks Widespread and systematic human rights violations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and homosexuality persist in the Philippines. The arrests, harassment, and discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Philippines. The State should seek policy reform in the Philippines National Police (PNP) by including a non-discrimination provision for LGBT persons and require the Presidential Human Rights Commission (PHRC) to include the rights of LGBT persons in the National Human Rights Plan by having concrete programs in the National plan to address and prevent violence and discrimination of LGBT persons.

VII. GENDER MAINSTREAMING Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implication for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making womens as well as mens concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political,economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality. The government implement a program that caters the gender equality in all government offices through GENDER MAINSTREAMING OR GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT (GAD) main strategy for ensuring that the government pursues gender equality in all aspects of the development process to achieve the vision of a genderresponsive society where women and men equally contribute to and benefit from development.
The guidelines focus on: (i) the process; (ii) strategies; and (iii) development and management results of integrating gender equality and womens empowerment concerns in various stages of the project cycle. LEVELS OF GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMENS EMPOWERMENT WELFARE: Addressing the material and physical well-being of women and men, girls and boys. ACCESS: Ensuring that resources, services, facilities are made available to women and men. CONSCIENTIZATION: empowerment means sensitizing women and men to sexist beliefs and recognizing that women's subordination is not part of the natural order of things, but is a result of discrimination that is socially constructed, and therefore can be altered. PARTICIPATION: Addressing the most visible phenomenon of inequality between women and men: women are a minority in the legislative assembly, in the management of public organizations and in private sector institutions. CONTROL: Confronting the unequal power relations between women and men. Womens increased participation at the decision-making level.

The INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION COUNTRY OFFICE FOR THE PHILIPPINES (ILOCO-MANILA) has been actively promoting the rights and welfare of women workers through various measures. ILO approach to simplify gender mainstreaming was gearing up partners through the Participatory Gender Audit (PGA). The Office has trained more than 100 PGA facilitators who in turn have conducted PGA in various United Nations (UN) agencies, government offices, and local government units. In January 2012, the result of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) PGA as conducted by ILO Manila was finalized.

OUTLINE OF THE REPORT

I. II.

INTRODUCTION (Definition of terms) MEASUREMENT OF GENDER EQUALITY

III. FACTORS AND PROGRESS IN GENDER EQUALITY IV. GLOBAL COMMITMENT THAT ADDRESS GENDER EQUALITY V. PHILIPPINE SETTING VI. GENDER ISSUES
VII. GENDER MAINSTREAMING

Polytechnic University of the Philippines College of Political Science and Public Administration Department of Public Administration

WRITTEN REPORT IN TRENDS AND ISSUES IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Prepared by: Reyes, Karl Marxcuz R. Reyes, Nichali C. Rico, Nella Faye A. BPAG 4-1

Submitted to: PROF. OFELIA M. EMPEMANO

07 MARCH 2014