IT IS ALREADY a challenge to be a woman in a country that is led by macho-f ascist, misogynistic leaders, but it is even more difficult to be a working woman in a country plagued with poverty, incessant price increases, labor flexibilization, limited work opportunities, and unsafe work conditions. Thus in commemoration of International Women’s Day tomorrow, we express high regard to the working women who have relentlessly asserted their rights amid threats and worsening work conditions.
While the government boasts of improvement in women’s economic participation and opportunity which brought the Philippines to rank high in the Global Gender Gap Index, the reality is that the condition of many working women in the country remains appalling. According to the Center for Women’s Resources, women, to this day, are still confronted with very limited work opportunities and are mostly confined as wage and salary workers in manufacturing and retail trade. Jobs available in manufacturing and in wholesale and retail trade are non-regular and low-wage jobs and are only extensions of women’s domestic chores.
Further, women are often targeted as “seasonal workers”, namely kasambahay, promodizer, and sales personnel. The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that there are 2.58 million women who engage in short-term or seasonal jobs in 2017, while 297,000 women work with different employers on a day-to-day or a week-to-week basis.
Apart from the non-regular and low-wage work available, women also endure unsafe working conditions. Similar to what happened to mall workers and call center agents who were prevented to leave their posts during the 6.1-magnitude earthquake last year, many women workers are deprived of their right to occupational safety and health.
However, we remain hopeful that the plight of working women will soon change for the better if they continue on working collectively in asserting and defending their rights. They should be inspired by the victories achieved through collective action such as the enactment of the Expanded Maternity Leave Law and Occupational Safety and Health Standards Law. These two laws are a result of unwavering hard work and support of women organizations and women’s rights advocates who lobbied and campaigned for the upliftment of workers’ rights.
Women workers have the strength and skill to lead in raising the consciousness of the female population and in teaching other women how to use their rights in order to build a better future. They know that in fighting for their rights, they have nothing to lose but the chain of oppression and exploitation.
