The Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) submits its Gender and Development (GAD) Accomplishment Report for the First Semester of 2016 to the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC). This is in line with the commitment of government to mainstream gender dimensions in its programs, projects, and activities to implement Republic Act No. 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women (MCW) towards women’s empowerment, gender equity and gender equality.

The ILS GAD report highlighted the “Guiding Gender, Migration and Development Policy” Forum held last 7 April 2016 and conducted in cooperation with POEA. The same forum also produced an executive report which was submitted to World Bank together with the ILS research paper titled, “Survey of Filipino Migrant Worker Returnees from Qatar.”

The report also outlines the various GAD activities of the ILS including the progress of at least three full researches, policy briefs, proceedings and technical papers that have gender-disaggregated data and have integrated key gender equality principles and issues in its content and analysis of employment issues, along with a proposal on training-workshop on GAD Planning and Budgeting, and a Technical Learning Session (TLS) on Gender Awareness and Sensitivity slated for September.

Two other GAD Forums are currently in progress and are scheduled to be conducted by the third quarter of 2016, namely: the “Gender and Development (GAD) Forum on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) and Decent Work,” slated for August, and the GAD forum titled, “What Works for Indigenous Women at Work? Ensuring Gender Rights and Cultural Responsiveness in Decent Work Promotion,” which will be conducted in October 2016.