IN 1937 the Philippines became among the first nations in the Asia-Pacific region to usher in universal suffrage, affirming via plebiscite a woman’s right to vote and run for public office.
Seventy-eight years later, women continue to play a vital role in the country’s politics. There were 893,418 more female voters than male voters during the May 2013 elections.
Their continued presence and participation explains why the Philippines is among the most gender-equal nations in Asia. We ranked ninth out of 142 countries in the 2014 Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum—the only Asia-Pacific nation to rank in the top 10.
The 2015 Mastercard Index of Women’s Advancement describes the Philippines among the best countries for woman workers, being one of only two countries in the Asia-Pacific region (the other being New Zealand) to have more than 50 female business or government leaders for every 100 males in equivalent leadership positions.
To illustrate, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was the only female Chief Justice at the recent third Asean Chief Justices Meeting. In fact, she has been the only female top judge in Asean since 2012.
Women seem to be breaking through the glass ceiling here in the Philippines, but there is still a need to narrow the gender gap. We may be among a small number of countries that have had female heads-of-state. But the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism recently noted that only 18 percent of the candidates in the recent elections were women.
The world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8 of every year. The Philippines has good cause for celebration, as we continue to be blessed with dynamic and well-educated female leaders. The continuing challenge is to provide them broad opportunity and sufficient resources.
E-mail: angara.ed@gmail.com.