Gender Equality:

Viewpoint of Millennials
Residing in Makati
and Nearby Vicinities
Araling Panlipunan Research
Of Grade 10 Students
I. Introduction
 Filipino millennials are very outspoken and they have
various opinions on certain heavy subjects of society. But
they can only do so much. It is up to the current reigning
generations in position to solve modern problems and
challenges that we face. One of those present issues is
gender equality. This is a very timely topic as we are
becoming more diverse in our interests, hobbies, jobs, etc.
Sometimes people look more about gender than the overall
knowledge and capability. This limits the gender roles of the
inferior (women).
 The dictionary defines equality as: the state of being
equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities. This
means that women has to have the same opportunities that
men receive for most things, but not all. Why? Because we
also need to exercise equity, “the quality of being fair and
impartial.” In some instances, men have irreplaceable roles
that they need to fill, even women. These special mantles
assigned to them have to be filled by the correct gender.
These are so called “written in stone.”
 We cannot bend these roles, but we can certainly work
around them, we can adjust our perception about women
being minor in most aspects. We can think of women as
“perfect companions”, complements for men, not as
subordinates but as partners. Gender equality in the
corporate world has been discussed in the article titled:
“Advancing gender equality in the Philippines: A crucial
balancing act” by BusinessWorld. An excerpt of the article
states:
Source: [Link]
the-philippines-a-crucial-balancing-act/
 Cultural Change to Break Gender Gridlock
Society generally is the last trisector element. Deeply
rooted attitudes play an integral part in limiting the
potential of women and an investment in public
awareness can ease the path for working women.
According to statistics from the Department of Labor and
Employment, about 30% of working-age women report
that household or family duties prevent them from
working.
 The movement to change these traditional mindsets may be
slow, but it is essential for real and long-term change.
Education and awareness are crucial. In Central Luzon, the
Department of Education has begun to train teachers to
ensure that all lessons use a gender lens in the curriculum,
textbooks, teaching and learning, and in the design of school
facilities. In addition, schools can work in tandem with
companies to sponsor and mentor women to encourage more
broad participation in the economy.
 The Philippines stands out as a beacon in the Asia-
Pacific region for its work on reducing gender gaps. The
country can build on this strong foundation to further
empower women and boost the nation’s economic
dynamism and growth. If the tripartite actors —
government, companies, and society generally — work
together, more progress can be made and everyone can
capture the benefits of #balanceforbetter.
 So now the Philippines is being depicted as one
of the leading countries that break the gap between
gender differences and roles in the corporate
sector. We must not stop this significant progress,
we should hope for the best that the peak of gender
equality will bring a positive outcome towards the
near future.
 An article from Rappler mentions that the Philippines
Leads the Asia Pacific on Gender Equality in Work, it states:
By reinforcing opportunities for higher-income women and
extending them to poorer women, the Philippines could add
$40 billion to its annual GDP in 2025. The Philippines leads
the Asia Pacific region in terms of gender equality in work
but there are still some space for improvement, a study by the
McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) found.

Source: [Link]
equality-work-philippines-lead-asia-pacific-women
 Released on Friday, May 18, the study calculated
a Gender Parity Score (GPS) for Asia Pacific
countries using 15 indicators of gender equality in
work and three types of gender equality in society:
essential services and enablers of economic
opportunity, legal protection and political voice, as
well as physical security and autonomy.
 According to the study, the Philippines is the
region's best performer on indicators of gender
equality in work, such as participation in
professional and technical jobs and women in
leadership positions, and is 'near best' on
perceived wage gap for similar work.
 On gender equality in society, the Philippines is in line with
the regional average on essential services and enablers of
economic opportunity and on physical security and autonomy,
and 'above average' on legal protection and political voice. It's
also one of the 'best' on education and financial inclusion, and
'near best' in region on sex ratio at birth and child marriage,
according to the study.
However, it also has the second highest unmet need for family
planning in the region and the fourth highest rate of maternal
mortality.
 Advancing women’s equality could increase GDP
Even though the Philippines scored better than other Asia
Pacific countries in terms of gender equality in work, the
experience of Filipinas still depends largely on their
socioeconomic status, as lower-income women still confront
considerable gender gaps and less opportunity, the study found.
By reinforcing opportunities for higher-income women and
extending them to poorer women, the Philippines could add $40
billion to its annual GDP in 2025.
 “The Philippines has already made significant advances
towards gender parity and has established a solid
foundation on which to build further progress,” said
Kristine Romano, McKinsey & Company Managing
Partner for the Philippines. “The next challenge is to
support lower-income women to make the most of their
economic potential, pursue careers that will earn them
higher wages, and give them the support and flexibility
they need.”
 The study also recommends that the Philippine
government and companies consider measures to advance
women’s equality in six priority areas:
• Increase access to, and equal provision of, family-friendly
policies in the workplace
• Introduce policies and programs to improve gender
balance in male-dominated industries
• Strengthen economic incentives for women to remain in
the workplace
• Reduce barriers to labor-force participation by young
mothers and single parents
• Use financial products and services to increase economic
empowerment for less-educated women
• Accelerate implementation of programs to improve maternal
health in rural and isolated areas
“For all women in the Philippines, there is work to do on
closing wage gaps with men, enhancing access to the finance
that will enable them to find and run successful businesses, and
providing the flexibility and support that women need to better
balance their home and working lives,” said Romano.
 The eighth United Nations Development Programme
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is gender equality.
It states that:

Ending all forms of discrimination against women and

girls is not only a basic human right, but it also crucial to
accelerating sustainable development. It has been proven
time and again, that empowering women and girls has a
multiplier effect, and helps drive up economic growth and
development across the board.
Source: [Link]
 Since 2000, UNDP, together with our UN partners
and the rest of the global community, has made gender
equality central to our work. We have seen remarkable
progress since then. More girls are now in school
compared to 15 years ago, and most regions have
reached gender parity in primary education. Women
now make up to 41 percent of paid workers outside of
agriculture, compared to 35 percent in 1990.
 The SDGs aim to build on these achievements to
ensure that there is an end to discrimination against
women and girls everywhere. There are still huge
inequalities in the labor market in some regions, with
women systematically denied equal access to jobs.
Sexual violence and exploitation, the unequal
division of unpaid care and domestic work, and
discrimination in public office, all remain huge
barriers.
 Affording women equal rights to economic
resources such as land and property are vital targets
to realizing this goal. So is ensuring universal
access to sexual and reproductive health. Today
there are more women in public office than ever
before, but encouraging women leaders will help
strengthen policies and legislation for greater
gender equality.
 As a summary, this discussed the Philippines as a country that
has barely experienced extreme gender inequality as this is a
matriarchal nation. Many influential leaders are women, they
may have not fought into combat, but they used their knowledge
and caring nature to help the nation progress. Other influential
women have brought great pride to the Philippines in the
modern day and have been great inspirations for the next
generation. Many big names include Lea Salonga, Cory Aquino,
Miriam Defensor Santiago, Catriona Gray and many others.
 This research study dives deeper towards the
unknown variables of gender, their personal
experiences based on their gender. This aims to know
their opinion and point of view towards the benefits
and rights they receive, also the obligations that they
need to fulfill. This does not represent all the
Filipinos that are living/working in the Philippines,
this just concentrates over a specific area, for our
case, Makati City.
Definition of Terms:
Gender Equality: the state in which access to rights or
opportunities is unaffected by gender.

Equality: the state of being equal, especially in status,

rights, and opportunities.

Equity: the quality of being fair and impartial.

II. Presentation of Data
as
33 ppl
12 ppl
5 ppl
 15 ppl
2% 27 ppl
1 pax
5%
3 ppl

4 ppl

0
16 ppl
11 ppl
23 ppl
 40 42

25 25

10 8
23 ppl
27 ppl
 Gender Discrimination

Low chance of Promotion

Less likely to get a specific job role

because of gender
 …hold chores
Women are never in charge

Women are supposed to have “clean” .

jobs
…nd assistance
Women are
not as strong as men
…ying heavy
Women are good
objects
at multitasking
…women are in
charge Women are supposed to make less money than men
 All men love sports

Men do not cook, sew, or do crafts

Men do not do housework

…artners

↑ Men are always in charge

42

8
…cademically

…ed equity
 Only likes the same gender

…e of peer pressure
Soft mannerisms/Cross dressing

…ttention in society
 46 43
39 37 36

11 13 14

4 7

than o n ey me
n
am
e
de rs
re m tners r wo the
s
d for aning
lea o
n m ir par ov e v e goo nd cle
e tter e a r
e ow
er ld h a men ly
on ing a
… en p u s
m …d han th o re …o ghts a e
… ook
wo t …m ri c
27 ppl
9 ppl

14 ppl
23 ppl
27 ppl
21 ppl
8 ppl

18 ppl
3 ppl
24 ppl
8 ppl

18 ppl
III. Conclusion & Recommendation
 After careful research and surveys, the researchers have
concluded that Gender inequality is still rapid at the large scale
and it is shown in our data by how they see and perceive the
opposite gender. Some respondents still believe in the
negative stigma that women have an inferior role in the
modern society, they still “haven’t” adapted to the new age of
independence, democracy, where everyone has a voice for
themselves, either for good, or for negative.
 But through this research, one thing is sure, women are
becoming more than just a minor force in the ever-
growing ecosystem. They embrace new roles that we
aren’t used to, and I think that is a positive thing.
Although Filipinos still have split views on how to
embrace gender equality, whether to promote feminism
or not, to promote equity or equality or not, we still
support what’s for the best.
 The negative image of women is now broken, and the
Philippines is one of the pioneers of developing a
leveled community. But occasional news of women, or
even men, being treated terribly because of their
gender/mannerisms can’t be avoided, we are now more
aware that these shouldn’t happen if we want to be part
of the solution, to paint the bigger picture of a
harmonious and collaborative community.
 For a firsthand opinion as to what we could do towards
this issue of gender equality, we should obtain a
heightened sensitivity towards the preference and
personality of every individual we encounter. Not only
to one specific gender, but to everyone. But that does not
mean that we always tolerate their actions, we should
respect them, yet we must put our morals ahead in order
to weigh out what is right and respectable.
 In this way we achieve true equality towards the people
that not only deserve equality, but display the same
amount of respect towards others. We in turn create a
well-balanced society, not living only for themselves, but
bolster other individuals towards a healthy well-being.
This is my definition of a community shaped and
influenced by mutual respect, which in turn bears fruit
into equality, even equity.