Manila – The Institute for Labor Studies, represented by its Labor and Employment Officers Malorie Joy Mones and Ronell Delerio, guested at SOLAIR on Air DZUP 1602 last 03 April to share to the public the results of the ILS study analyzing women's participation and gender integration in trade unions.
Current data reflect alarming gender gaps in unionization. In traditionally male-dominated sectors such as manufacturing and construction, the proportion of women who are unionized still pales in comparison to men. Even in the wholesale and retail trade and the food and accommodation sectors where the bulk of women workers is concentrated, there are still more men becoming union members. Only in the education, health or social work and financial sectors are there more women than men in unions, although it should be noted that these are sectors typically associated with women by gender stereotyping.
The study generally seeks to contribute both to the growing scholarship and to the crucial policy development process within this dimension in the Philippine union and women’s movements. Anchored on the research goal of further ascertaining the state of women’s participation and the integration of women’s/gender issues in enterprise-based unions (EBUs) in the services and industry sectors, it aimed to determine the nature and extent of women’s participation in EBUs in selected services and industry sectors in terms of membership, leadership, and representation. The study also looked into how EBUs in selected services and industry sectors integrate women’s/gender issues within their internal structures and processes and in collective bargaining.
Link to working paper: http://ils.dole.gov.ph/an-analysis-on-womens-participation-and-gender-integration-in-services-and-industry-enterprisebased-unions-ebus-in-the-philippines/ (co-authored by Reinerio Alba, Joyce Anne S. Lumactud and Carl Rookie Daquio).
The Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) is the policy research and advocacy arm of the Department of Labor and Employment. For more information on this story, please contact the Advocacy and Publications Division at 527-3490.