By Cong B. Corrales
WOMEN in the Asia Pacific region have yet to achieve gender equality across the professions, a century after the Socialist Women’s International demanded and declared March 8 of every year as International Women’s Day across the globe.
In the workplace, the region’s women are fast becoming as active as the men.
In politics and business, however, they still fall way behind men, according to an index of annual surveys on gender equality.
The happy news is that in the 2015 Index, the Philippines has landed among the top countries to have the “highest ratio of female-to-male business leaders for the ninth consecutive year.”
Started in 2007, the surveys are conducted every year by the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Women’s Advancement among 8,235 women from 16 countries in the region. The survey features an annual gender equality index based on employment, education, and leadership opportunities.
In the latest Index released recently, the Philippines landed on Top 3 slot, securing an overall index score of 72.6. New Zealand topped this list with 77, followed by Australia with 76. Singapore came in fourth in the list with 70.5.
Women in 10 of the 16 countries surveyed outnumbered men in tertiary education and gross enrolment rate, showing that women in the region are “increasingly more educated than their male counterparts.”
INFOGRAPHICS by Cong B. Corrales
“While there is a strong correlation between tertiary education attainment and business leadership in markets…women in the majority of markets across Asia Pacific are lagging behind in business leadership despite their educational qualifications,” the Index reads in part.
The 16 countries surveyed for the Index are: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Under the capability component of the Index, the Philippines, along with New Zealand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, scored 100 each. The data, the Index said, indicated that women in these countries are at par or better represented in secondary and tertiary institutions than their male counterparts.
WOMEN paddle their own canoes, literally, in Artex compound in Malabanon City. Women here earn by paddling boats that ferry passengers to and from their homes | Photo by Cong B. Corrales
“Of the three major components, capability remains the strongest indicator of Asia Pacific women’s progress towards gender parity for the ninth consecutive year,” according to Index.
The employment component, for its part, remains the second strongest component over the nine-year period from 2007 to 2015, the survey showed.
“With the exception of Indonesia (78.4) and Malaysia (75.9), women across the majority of markets in Asia Pacific are making progress towards becoming as economically active as their male counterparts, scoring above the 80-point mark for employment,” the Index reads.
However, leadership opportunities in the 16 countries surveyed remain the weakest component from last year, and also across the nine-year period since the annual research was launched in 2007.
A MOTHER holds up a broken plate to symbolize demands of protesters for lower food prices during a Women’s Day Month celebration on March 8, 2011 in Bacolod City, Philippines | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles
Only New Zealand (50.6) and the Philippines (50.1) have more than 50 women business owner, business leaders, and government leaders for every 100 male counterparts, in their respective countries.
“(The) Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia show the most marked advancement in women’s leadership since 2007, gaining 12.2, 8.7, and 7.5 index points, respectively,” the Index reads in part.
In the overall index score, India (44.2), Bangladesh (44.6), and Sri Lanka (46.2) need to do more in achieving gender parity. While Singapore showed the largest improvement by gaining 0.4 index points from the same survey last year, Thailand (59.4) displayed the largest overall decline of 7.2 index points from last year.
The scores are indexed to 100 males to indicate how women in each of the 16 countries surveyed are faring in achieving socio-economic equality with men. A score under 100 indicates gender inequality in favor of males, while a score above 100 indicates inequality in favor of females.
“Study after study shows how public and private sector companies – and their bottom lines – benefit from having more women in leadership. In fact, companies with more women in leadership outperform those who do not,” said Georgette Tan, group head of communications for MasterCard-Asia Pacific.
A RETIRED woman sugarworker in Negros Occidental, Philippines | Photo by Julius D. Mariveles
Carrying the theme “Make It Happen,” this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) owes its beginnings to the working women in the early 20th century who organized strikes against low wages, lack of protective legislation, and poor working conditions.
The Socialist Party of America organized the very first “Women’s Day” on February 28,1909 in New York. It was in commemoration of the 1908 strike of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.
Inspired by their American socialist counterparts, German socialist Clara Zetkin and the Socialist Women’s International proposed in August 1910 that March 8th of every year be declared as International Women’s Day.
It is because of the history of organizing by working women around the world that the United Nations officially recognized IWD in 1977.
In the Philippines, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) has adopted the theme: “Juana, Desisyon Mo ay Mahalaga sa Kinabukasan ng Bawat Isa, Ikaw Na!” for the 2015 National Women’s Month Celebration.
“In a highly competitive global market, companies are beginning to understand why integrating talented women into leadership structures is imperative for sustainable economic growth and innovation in both developed and developing markets,” said Tan. – PCIJ March 2015