PASIG CITY — The Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) participated in a series of activities focused on Gender-Responsive Social Protection, including a two-day training held on 28 to 29 April, and a high-level policy dialogue on 30 April, at the Joy Nostalg Hotel in Pasig City.

Organized by the United Nations Children's Fund, the event aimed to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders in designing and implementing social protection and integrating gender analysis toward advancing gender-responsive social protection systems in the Philippines.

ILS OIC-Executive Director III Miraluna S. Tacadao, along with representatives from the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns and other government agencies, engaged in group workshops using existing social protection programs from DSWD as practical cases and identified entry points for gender integration.

On 30 April, ILS Senior Labor and Employment Officer Michelle Ann A. Ruiz joined the high-level policy dialogue, which focused on long-term strategies to reduce adolescent vulnerabilities, particularly those associated with child, early, and forced marriage, and adolescent pregnancy.

The dialogue featured panelists from the Council for the Welfare of Children, the Ministry of Social Services and Development of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and other national agencies. Discussions focused on policy recommendations and concrete action points to support the enforcement of the law prohibiting child marriage in the country, along with the formulation of implementing rules and a national action plan.

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