GENDER AND SOCIETY

1. POLICIES THAT SEEK TO
EMPOWER WOMEN IN THE
ECONOMIC SPHERE
PRESENTED BY:
B.I.T. 1- R CIVILTECHNOLOGY GROUP 8
BORJE, JOHN RUPHEL
BADILLO, MOUREL ANGELO
ENCINARES, ARLENE
ORA, CESARIO

2. REPUBLIC ACT 9501
MAGNA CARTA FOR MICRO, SMALL,
AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (MSMEs)
• AN ACT TO PROMOTE ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY
STRENGTHENING DEVELOPMENT AND ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS TO MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE
ENTERPRISES, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 6977, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “MAGNA
CARTA FOR SMALL ENTERPRISES” AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
• THIS LAW HOPES TO CREATE POLICIES THAT WILL ASSIST
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN VARIOUS STAGES OF
DEVELOPMENT.

3. REPUBLIC ACT 10151
ACT ALLOWING THE EMPLOYMENT OF
NIGHT WORKERS OF 2011
• IT IS A RESPONSE TO ARTICLES 130 AND 131 OF THE LABOR
CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES.
• THE TWO ARTICLES PROHIBIT WOMEN FROM WORKING THE
NIGHT SHIFT DUE TO THEIR REPRODUCTIVE ROLES.
• AS A RESULT, THE OPPORTUNITIES OF WOMEN BECAME
SEVERLY LIMITED, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO WORK IN THE BPO
INDUSTRY.
• THE ACT AIMS TO EXPAND WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT OR WORK
OPTIONS.

4. REPUBLIC ACT 10361
DOMESTIC WORKERS ACT OF 2013
(BATAS KASAMBAHAY)
• THE "KASAMBAHAY" (DOMESTIC WORKER)
LAW DEFINESS THE LABOR RIGHTS OF DOMESTIC
HOUSEHOLD WORKERS, MAJORITY OF WHICH ARE
WOMEN, INCREASES THEIR MINIMUM WAGE, AND
PROVIDES REGULAR EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL
PROTECTION BENEFITS.

5. LAWS THAT COVER WOMEN IN THE
LABOR AND LIVELIHOOD SECTOR
LAW SHORT TITLE APPROVED DATE
REBUBLIC
ACT NO. 10361
DOMESTIC WORKERS
ACT OR BATAS
KASAMBAHAY
JANUARY 18, 2013
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 9501
MAGNA CARTA FOR
MICRO, SMALL, AND
MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
MAY 5, 2008

6. LAW SHORT TITLE APPROVED DATE
REBUBLIC
ACT NO. 9178
BARANGAY MICRO
BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
(BMBEs) ACT OF 2002
NOVEMBER 13, 2002
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 8425
SOCIAL REFORM AND
POVERTY ALLEVIATION
ACT
JUNE 30, 1998
REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 8424
THE TAX REFORM ACT OF
1997
DECEMBER 11, 1997
PROCLAMATION
NO. 1105
NATIONAL RURAL
WOMEN'S DAY
OCTOBER 15, 1997

7. LAW SHORT TITLE APPROVED DATE
REBUBLIC
ACT NO. 8291
THE GOVERNMENT
SERVICE INSURANCE
SYSTEM ACT OF 1997
MAY 30, 1997
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 8289
MAGNA CARTA FOR
SMALL ENTERPRISES
MAY 6, 1997
PROCLAMATION
NO. 976
DECLARING 1997 AS
ANTI-MIGRANT
TRAFFICKING YEAR
FEBRUARY 25, 1997
REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 8187
PATERNITY LEAVE ACT
OF 1996
JUNE 11, 1996

8. LAW SHORT TITLE APPROVED DATE
REBUBLIC
ACT NO. 8042
MIGRANT WORKERS AND
OVERSEAS FILIPINOS
ACT OF 1995
JUNE 7, 1995
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 7882
PROVISION OF
ASSISTANCE TO WOMEN
ENGAGING IN MICRO AND
COTTAGE BUSINESS
ENTERPRISES, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
FEBRUARY 20, 1995
REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 7877
ANTI-SEXUAL
HARASSMENT ACT OF
1995
FEBRUARY 14, 1995

9. LAW SHORT TITLE APPROVED DATE
REBUBLIC
ACT NO. 7699
THE PORTABILITY LAW MAY 1, 1994
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 7655
AN ACT INCREASING THE
MINIMUM WAGE OF
HOUSEHELPERS,
AMENDING FOR THE
PURPOSE ARTICLE 143
OF PRESIDENTIAL
DECREE NO. 442, AS
AMENDED
AUGUST 19, 1993
REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 7323
SPECIAL PROGRAM FOR
EMPLOYMENT OF
STUDENTS (SPES)
MARCH 30, 1992

10. LAW SHORT TITLE APPROVED DATE
REBUBLIC
ACT NO. 7305
MAGNA CARTA OF
PUBLIC HEALTH
WORKERS
MARCH 26, 1992
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 7322
INCREASING MATERNITY
BENEFITS IN FAVOR OF
WOMEN WORKERS IN
THE PRIVATE SECTORS
MARCH 3, 1992
REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 6972
BARANGAY-LEVEL TOTAL
DEVELOPMENT AND
PROTECTION OF
CHILDREN ACT
NOVEMBER 23, 1990
REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 6938
COOPERATIVE CODE OF
THE PHILIPPINES
MARCH 10, 1990

11. WORKINGWOMEN: KEY
FACTS ANDTRENDS IN
FEMALE LABOR FORCE
PARTICIPATION

12. INTRODUCTION
•In almost every country in the world, men are more
likely to participate in labor markets than women.
However, these gender differences in participation
rates have been narrowing substantially in recent
decades.
•Around the world men tend to participate in labor
markets more frequently than women. However, it
only takes a glimpse of the data to see that there are
huge differences across societies

14. EXPLANATION
•As we can see, the numbers for most countries are
well below 100%, which means that the participation
of women tends to be lower than that of men. Yet
differences are outstanding: in countries such as
Syria or Algeria, the ratio is below 25%. In contrast,
in Laos, Mozambique, Rwanda, Malawi and Togo,
the relationship is close to, or even slightly above
100% (i.e. there is gender parity in labor force
participation or even a higher share of women
participating in the labor market than men).

16. EXPLANATION
•Female labor force participation is highest in some of
the poorest and richest countries in the world. And it
is lowest in countries with average national incomes
somewhere in between. In other words: in a cross-
section, the relationship between female participation
rates and GDP per capita follows a U-shape.

17. EXPLANATION
• Within Africa there is a negative correlation (the
poorest countries have the highest participation
rates), while in Europe there is a positive correlation
(the richest European countries have the highest
participation rates). Indeed, these correlations within
high and low income countries seem to explain a big
part of the U-shape that appears in the cross-
section.

18. WHAT DOESTHIS IMPLY FORTHE GLOBAL
TREND?
•Not obvious, since some countries have missing data,
and global trends are particularly sensitive to changes in
large countries, such as India. In a recent exercise using
statistical assumptions to impute missing data,
theWorld Development Report (2012) estimates that in
the period 1980-2008, the global rate of female labor
force participation increased from 50.2 to 51.8 percent,
while the male rate fell slightly from 82.0 to 77.7 percent.
So the gender gap narrowed from 32 percentage points
in 1980 to 26 percentage points in 2008.

20. EXPLANATION
•As we can see, there are positive trends across all of
these countries. Notably, growth in participation
began at different points in time, and proceeded at
different rates; nonetheless, the substantial and
sustained increases in the labor force participation of
women in rich countries remains a striking feature of
economic and social change in the 20th century.

21. EXPLANATION
•However, this chart also shows that in many rich
countries – such as, for example, the US – growth in
participation slowed down considerably or even
stopped at the turn of the 21st century.
•The evidence shows that most of the long-run
increase in the participation of women in labor
markets throughout the last century is attributable
specifically to an increase in the participation of
married women.

23. EXPLANATION
•As we can see, regional trends in recent years go in
different directions. Notably, there have been large
reductions in South and East Asia, and large
increases in Latin America. In the Middle East and
North Africa there have also been positive trends, but
this remains the region where female participation
rates are lowest.

24. THE FORCES DRIVING CHANGE
•Women all over the world allocate a substantial
amount of their time to activities that are not typically
recorded as ‘economic activities’.
•Female participation in labor markets tends to
increase when the time-cost of unpaid care work is
reduced, shared equally with men, and/or made
more compatible with market work.

25. MATERNAL HEALTH
•The various aspects related to maternity impose a
substantial burden on women’s time. And this is of
course a biological burden uniquely borne by
women. Moreover, maternity is not only a burden in
terms of time. It is also risky, and often imposes on
women a substantial burden in terms of health.
Improved maternal health alleviates the adverse
effects of pregnancy and childbirth on women’s
ability to work, and is hence a key driver of female
labor force participation.

26. FERTILITY
• Lower rates of fertility can, in principle, free up a significant
amount of women’s time, hence allowing them to enter the labor
force more easily. And this is of course independent of health
complications – having children is very time consuming even
when enjoying perfect health.
• Indeed, there is strong evidence of a causal link between fertility
(having children) and labor market outcomes (participation,
employment, wages, etc.). In a recent study Lundborg, Plug
and Rasmussen (2017)13 show that women who are
successfully treated by IVF (in vitro fertilization) in Denmark
earn persistently less because of having children. They explain
the decline in annual earnings by women working less when
children are young and getting paid less when children are
older.

27. FERTILITY
•There are many other studies that find similar effects
on female labor supply when there are exogenous
shocks to fertility. And interestingly, there is evidence
that women’s control over their own fertility is linked
to career investments and subsequent changes in
labor market outcomes (see, for example, Goldin
and Katz 2002).

28. CHILDCARE AND OTHER FAMILY-ORIENTED
POLICIES
•The fact that fertility reductions lead to higher labor
force participation for women is certainly important
from an empirical point of view. But it is obviously
contradictory to promote female agency while
suggesting women should have fewer children. So it
is helpful to consider other factors that make
employment compatible with childbearing, and thus
broaden the choices available to women. Childcare
and other family-oriented policies are prime
examples here.

29. LABOR-SAVING CONSUMER DURABLES
•The consumer goods revolution, which introduced
labor-saving durables such as washing machines,
vacuum cleaners, and other time-saving products, is
another factor that contributed to the rise in married
female labor force participation in the last century.

30. SOCIAL NORMS AND CULTURE
•Social norms and culture circumscribe the extent to
which it is possible or desirable for women to enter the
labor force. It is therefore not hard to see why they play
an important role.
•Socially assigned gender roles have often been
institutionally enforced.And this is still the case today: In
most countries around the world there are restrictions on
the types of work that women can do.

31. SOCIAL NORMS AND CULTURE
• From a historical point of view, there is evidence that social
norms regarding economic gender roles have long been
around, and they are very persistent (see, for example,
Alesina, Giuliano and Nunn 2013).15
• And yet, despite social norms being persistent, there is also
evidence that large and sometimes sudden changes are
possible. Research in this area shows that social norms and
culture can be influenced in a number of non-institutional
ways, including through intergenerational learning
processes, exposure to alternative norms, and activism such
as that which propelled the women’s movement.16

32. STRUCTURAL CHANGES INTHE ECONOMY
•Social barriers affecting female labor supply operate
differently in different contexts. In particular, income levels
and macroeconomic variables play an important role. As
we show above, there is a U-shaped relationship
between GDP per capita and female labor force
participation.

33. STRUCTURAL CHANGES INTHE ECONOMY
•In low-income countries, where the agricultural sector is
particularly important for the national economy, women
are heavily involved in production, primarily as family
workers. Under such circumstances, productive and
reproductive work are not strictly delineated and the two
can be more easily reconciled.

34. STRUCTURAL CHANGES INTHE ECONOMY
•With technological change and market expansion, however,
work becomes more capital intensive and is often physically
separated from the home, thus contributing to a decrease in
women’s labor force participation. Hence, in middle income
countries, where there is often a social stigma attached to
married women working in blue-collar industries, “women’s
work is often implicitly bought by the family, and women retreat
into the home, although their hours of work may not materially
change.”

35. STRUCTURAL CHANGES INTHE ECONOMY
•With sustained development, women make educational
gains and the value of their time in the market increases
alongside the demand-side pull from growing service
industries. This means that in high income countries, the
rise in female labor supply is characterized by women
gaining the option of moving into paid, often white-collar
work, while the opportunity cost of exiting the workforce
for childcare rises.