IN NUMBERS: State of Filipino women in 2024

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On Saturday, March 8, the Philippines joins the global celebration of International Women’s Day.

The country has long been known to have a conservative, patriarchal society, but the women’s rights movement remains dynamic and persistent. Women have fought for their equal access to education, opportunities, social services, protection against violence, and the freedom to choose their own paths.

Despite strides of progress towards women’s empowerment, particularly years after former president Rodrigo Duterte normalized misogyny at the country’s highest position, the Philippines finds itself with the lowest gender parity score in the Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in over a decade.

Here are some key data about the state of Filipino women in 2024, according to the “Estado ni Juana” report of the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) and other official sources. Some figures are not as of 2024, but are the latest available.

56.6 million

projected population of women in the Philippines (2024)

According to the Women and Men Fact Sheet 2024 of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the projected population of women in the country is 56.6 million.

This is slightly lower than the male projected population, at 57.6 million.

0.779 out of 1

the Philippines' score in gender parity (2024)

The Philippines scored 0.779 out of 1 in the WEF’s Gender Gap Report for 2024, where 1 represents total parity.

The score is the lowest the country has had since 2012. From ranking 16th in the world in 2023, the country dropped to 25th place. The WEF attributed this to a reduction in the share of women legislators, senior officials, and managers, bringing down the score in this area to 94.7% — a drop of 5.3 percentage points. There was also a drop of almost 2 percentage points in perceived wage equality for similar work.

But there are wins. The Philippines ranks the first in Southeast Asia. The country has achieved parity in professional and technical workers, and in all educational attainment indicators.

In the PCW’s National Women’s Month Celebration kickoff activity on Wednesday, March 5, PCW Chairperson Ermelita Valdeavilla noted how only 28 countries have achieved gender equality in education. However, she said, there are issues within education that are not captured by the total-parity figure.

“Our problem is the out-of-school youth — boys and girls who are not in school at all. They are not accounted for in this type of indicator. We have to think of how to address their needs so that they can grow up to become productive citizens of this country,” said Valdeavilla in a mix of Filipino and English.

84.8%

secondary level completion rate of girls (2023)

Girls have a higher completion rate in school than boys. For elementary, or Grades 1 to 6, girls have a 99.8% completion rate, while boys have a 99.3% rate.

Both numbers drop at the secondary level, or Grades 7 to 12. Girls have an 84.8% completion rate, compared to boys’ 81.4%.

There are also more young women who go on to enroll in higher education. In school year 2021-2022, some 2.57 million women were enrolled in tertiary education, compared to 1.87 million men.

Even with higher education, women still participate less in the labor force, and do not earn as much. Commission on Population and Development Undersecretary Lisa Grace Bersales said in a statement on Thursday, March 6, that women need more opportunities, particularly in male-dominated fields.

“Let us remember that women have a multi-faceted role in the family, being the primary caregivers, taking responsibility for nurturing children and managing the household. It is important that we remain intentional in providing all women from different sectors with the opportunities and voice to create influence and change, especially in society,” said Bersales.

51.2%

women's labor force participation rate (2021)

The PSA found that just over half of working-age women are employed or are actively seeking work. This is lower than the 75.4% labor force participation rate for men.

Meanwhile, the employment rate for women is at 91.8%, just a bit lower than the 92.5% employment rate for men. The employment rate accounts for labor force participants who have jobs.

For women, the most common occupation is service and sales worker.

1.135 million

women overseas Filipino workers (2022)

There were over a million women overseas Filipino workers as of 2022, more than their male counterparts at 828,000. Most of the women OFWs have elementary occupations, which include domestic work.

Their total cash remittances to the Philippines that year was over P74.55 billion. But even with more women workers abroad, the male OFWs still remitted more to the Philippines — at P122.92 billion.

According to the International Organization for Migration, female migrants tend to send a higher proportion of their income, but generally earn less than men.

13,122

cases of violence against women reported to the PNP (2023)

In 2023, the Philippine National Police (PNP) recorded at least 13,122 cases of violence against women. This number refers to cases filed for violations of the Safe Spaces Act, and the laws against rape, acts of lasciviousness, sexual harassment, concubinage, and anti-photo and video voyeurism.

Some 13% of women and girls aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence, while 4% of the same age group have experienced sexual violence.

Almost 1 in 10 women reported that they have had an intimate partner who exhibited three or more controlling behaviors.

But these numbers only reflect those who reported the violence. Just 1 in 3, or 34% of the women and girls who have experienced violence, ever sought help to stop the violence.

23.3%

elected government officials who are women (2024)

Men still dominate politics in the Philippines. Of the elective positions, from president down to Sangguniang Panlungsod or Sangguniang Bayan councilor, 76.7% are held by men — 10,388 to be exact.

Meanwhile, elected women officials are at 23.3%, representing 3,170.

Most government personnel are women, at 1.09 million, compared to 883,612 male government personnel. There are also more women judges than men, at 1,172, compared to 947 male judges.

99.5%

population with biases against women (2023)

The 2023 Gender Social Norms Index from the United Nations Development Programme found that almost all Filipinos hold biases against women.

Broken down by gender, Filipino women who hold biases against their gender were just an increment higher — at 99.67%, compared to men who had biases at 99.33%.

Nathalie Africa-Verceles, professor at the Department of Women and Development Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman, earlier said in a Rappler Talk episode that the country’s patriarchal culture plays a big role in why such gender bias exists in the Philippines, despite doing well in gender gap indices. – Rappler.com