Gender, Work and Family: The Situation in the Philippines

Using three waves of data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) survey modules on Work Orientations, and on Family, Work and Gender Roles, the paper will explore the current situation and the changing trends on how the work-family nexus is structured by gender in the Philippines. 

At the macro-level, Filipino women have gained greater equality with Filipino men than its Southeast Asian neighbors. The Philippines was one of the first countries in Asia to have recognized the important role of women as an essential component in nation-building. There are laws enacted laws and policies instituted to ensure the empowerment of women. The Philippines has had two women Presidents, a woman Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and women in high-level elected positions. Women have much access as men to establish their own businesses.               

But what happens when men and women go home from work? Despite the increasing the role of women in the public sphere, the Philippines remains a conservative, largely Catholic society that puts importance on the  family.

The paper will first examine the gender differences in the domestic division of labor, traditionally the women’s domain as “homemakers”. Then the paper will examine the possible impacts of gendered domestic division of labor on the work sphere, as measured by potential work-family conflict, and attitudes/behavior on female employment over the life-cycle. Finally, the paper will examine the possible linkages of domestic division of labor and well-being of couples, including satisfaction with family life, happiness and satisfaction with life.

Using the data from ISSP surveys conducted in 1994, 2002 and 2012 will allow the paper to examine the trends in gender, work and family in the Philippines within the context of the changes in the Philippine economic conditions across three decades and the accompanying socio-cultural changes it brought .