Reflection Paper

GED109 – Gender and Society

Prof. John Mark H. Villanueva

Name: Agustin, Seth Jarl G. Section: GED109 – A4 Date Submitted: 11/14/2019

Gender equality has been the issue of many countries in their society. Not only does it
take away the rights of the women but also becomes a barrier towards the growth of a country.
As stated in a report of the World Economic Forum on 2016 Global Gender Gap, Philippines is
amongst the best countries in the world that has achieved the lowest rates of gender inequality.
The Philippines has always given their efforts on improving gender equality in the country by
passing bills that gives women their protection and rights, such as Magna Carta of Women of
2009 that realizes the equality of men and women and the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995
that protects women and children from sexual harassment in employment, education and training
environments. However, despite being one of the countries with low rates of gender disparity in
the world, it still remains as one of the sustained development goals of the country. The
Philippines, as you can tell, is still in the process of development and still needs refurbishing. As
a developing country, what the Philippines need is more manpower to supports its developing
economic growth. According to the research conducted by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), the
Philippines has the potential to add up to $40 billion a year to its GDP by 2025 just by advancing
gender equality to the country. Therefore, in order to sustain rapid economic growth, the
Philippines will need to fully implement gender equality on the country, to bring out the potential
of women all around the Philippines. Thus, leading to sustained economic growth and help
address the unequal structures and practices that perpetuate discrimination and inequality in the
Philippines.

Sources:
• Romano , K., & Van, B. (2019, March 14). Advancing gender equality in the Philippines:
A crucial balancing act. Retrieved from https://www.bworldonline.com/advancing-gender-
equality-in-the-philippines-a-crucial-balancing-act/.
• Albert, J. R. G., & Vizmanos, J. F. (2017, February 2). Closing the gender gap in economic
opportunities. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/134739-gender-
equality-economic-opportunities-philippines.
• Women's rights in the Philippines. (2019, September 24). Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_rights_in_the_Philippines.