By Mia Rosienna Mallari
ASIDE from discrimination and lack of opportunities, this generation of woman workers are facing a new phenomenon: the flexibilization of work.
There are no insurances for entrepreneurial risks in the future and that it is probable that there is less security in work nowadays, economist and University of the Philippines Prof. Marina Fe Durano said in a forum organized by the United Nations (UN) office in the Philippines.
“There is greater flexibility, we’re even convinced that this is a good thing. But greater flexibility also means less security as far as benefits are concerned, that is something to be concerned with and that is something specific for millennials. It’s called the flexibilization of work and is a very recent phenomenon. It’s quite specific for the generation,” Durano said.
Durano noted the phenomenon came as the emergence of online stores and the growing number of people in the freelance industry posed a threat to security with regard to long-term benefits for millennial workers.
But overall, most of the women who work outside the home in many developing regions are in the informal sector, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said.
Seventy-five percent of women’s employment is in the informal sector, Mlambo-Ngcuka said in the same forum. They are unprotected and not covered by labor laws or social protection, she added.
Globally, women are paid 47 percent less than men; 20 percent less in East Asia and Asia and the Pacific; and 30 percent less in South Asia, she added.
“Right now they are exceptions and kudos to the Philippines because we are counting on you as one of the countries that make these work.”
Still, despite all the major advances, the progress of women having the same privileges as men is “slow and uneven,” according to Mlambo-Ngcuka. Women experience discrimination based on age, income level, ethnicity and level of education.
“When we say that we want economies that work for women, we need these agreements to be rules, not exceptions.”
Mlambo-Ngcuka was referring to agreements sealed during the landmark Fourth World Conference in Beijing. She said there are still many things to be done in time for 2030, the proposed date “where the battle for equality will come to a close and women will be on the same pedestal as men.”
At present the Philippines is the only Association of Southeast Asian Nations country in the top 10 Global Gender Gap report in the World Economic Forum. This determines the magnitude of gender-based disparities and tracks the progress over time. The country ranked ninth in the world in 2014 and has consistently been in the top 10 of the report since 2006.
Non-woman workers tell a different story
Trade Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado said the improvement of the access to local financing programs of small business operations showed the increasing competitiveness of female entrepreneuers.
Women comprised 43 percent of those who availed of small business loans in 2014, equal to P274 million, a dramatic increase from the 17 percent in 2009 that came only to 37 million.
But, Terrado said the government still needs “to maintain the competitiveness and sustainability of women’s microenterprises.”
Based on an Asian Institute of Management report, 63 percent of managers and business owners survey were women and 52 percent were microentrepreneurs, while the rest were owners of small and medium enterprises.
Also, 54 percent of enterprises registering names are female-owned. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor showed that out of 42 countries, the Philippines ranked second in terms of enrepreneurally active females.
“The principal development goals of a lasting, conducive and sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction and food security could only be achieved hand in hand with gender equality,” Terrado said.
The Philippines has fared well in the percentage of women gaining higher leadership positions, according to the 2015 report in the International Labor Organization, gender balance and diverse management teams yield positive business outcomes. Among the members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Philippines tops the ranking with about 48 percentage share.
Mlambo-Ngcuka said through the UN “He for She” campaign, they are mobilizing men to stand for gender equality. She noted that as leaders, men are expected to make substantive commitment to gender equality.
Image credits: Alysa Salen