Feminist Ethics:

From Oppression to
Empowerment
Amaryllis T. Torres, PHD
Professor Emeritus
University of the Philippines
Ethics
a system of moral principles that affect how
people make decisions and lead their lives, the
guiding beliefs of a person, group, or organization
 directs these decisions, customs and behaviors
towards what is perceived to be good or to be
right for the collective or social group.
 can be institutionalized in religions, philosophies,
codes of conduct of organizations or assemblies,
administrative or managerial rules, and by legal
systems.
Feminis
m
 A set of theories that describe women’s experiences,
behaviors, values and aspirations in a world characterized by
male dominance.
 Inquires into the social conditions of women in a male
dominated society and puts gender at the center of social
inquiry, thereby making women and their perspectives visible
and represented.
 Assumes that female subordination versus male dominance [or
power] have characterized interpersonal and social
relationships across age, race, class and culture for millennia.
 Goal - to make women’s voices more audible and powerful, in
order to release women from the shackles of subordination and
oppression, thus enabling them to claim their rights and equal
status in society.
 “We look at the world through women’s eyes because
for the last couple of thousand years the world has
been looked at and spoken about through men’s eyes.
Almost all religious texts have been written by men;
mainly men have formulated laws in most Parliaments
of the world; mainly men have made laws and passed
judgments; men editors have interpreted and
controlled news and so on.
 “Therefore, a balanced view is desperately required
and for that we need to look at the world through
women’s eyes.”
Kamla Bhasin
She adds~
 “Another reason for looking at the world
through women’s eyes is the fact that
women are at the bottom of all social,
political and economic hierarchies. Hence,
when we look at the world through
women’s eyes, we look at it through the
eyes of the most oppressed and exploited
members of our societies.”
Time spent
on Work by
Men and
Women
Women’s
Multiple
Burdens
Image Credits: jesadaphorn | dreamstime.com

Image Credits: jesadaphorn |
dreamstime.com
 The
Income
Gender
Gap

(Reproduced from Liswood,

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/
2018/12/women-progress-world-
gender-gap-2018/)
 Top Occupations of   Average Daily Basic Pay of Wage and Salary Gender Gap
Women and Men, Workers
Philippines 2017
Occupatio-nal Women Occupatio-nal Men Wage Difference
Rank Rank

Elementary 1 ₱208.19 1 ₱272.09 ₱6.39

Occupations

Managers 2 ₱899.59 3 ₱943.50 ₱43.91

Service and Sales 3 ₱293.00 4 ₱387.00 ₱94.00

Workers

Skilled Agricultural, 6 ₱390.08 2 ₱292.02 - ₱117.99

Forestry and Fishery
Workers

Gender Wage Gaps, 2017

Derived from Table 13.9, PSA. 2018 Gender Statistics on Labor and Employment
Rank Name Distinction

1 Angela Merkel Chancellor of Germany

2 Theresa May Prime Minister, UK

3 Christine Lagarde Managing Director, IMF

4 Mary Barra CEO, General Motors

5 Abigail Johnson CEO, Fidelity Investment

Co- Founder, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

6 Melinda Gates

7 Susan Wojcicki CEO, YouTube

Chair and Executive Director, Santander Bank

8 Ana Patricia Botín

9 Marillyn Hewson CEO, Lockheed Martin

10 Ginny Rometty CEO, IBM 

Forbes Most Powerful Women, 2018 (Top Ten)

WOMEN IN ELECTED POSITIONS, 2016
Half of the twelve members of the 17th
Senate are women;
40 percent of the members of the
House of Representatives are women;
Among locally elected public officials,

Women mayors constitute 30 percent

of all elected local chief executives,
Women vice-mayors hold 22.5
percent of all seats,
And women constitute 27 percent of
those elected to the Sangguniang
Panlunsod at Pambayan.
 One in five (20%) women has ever-experienced emotional
violence.

Violence
Against Fourteen percent have ever-experienced physical violence.

Women &
Girls, Five percent ever-experienced sexual violence by their
current or most recent husband or partner.
Philippines 53 percent of divorced, separated, or widowed women have
2017 experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence
compared with 24 percent of women who are married or
living together with a partner.

All forms of violence generally decline with increasing

household wealth.
 Incidence of Violence Against Women, by Age Groups
Forms of Age Group Reference
Violence Period/
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 Total Source
Percentage of Women Age 15-49 Who Have Experienced Various Forms of Physical
and Sexual Violence, by Current Age
Physical 11.9 16.5 12.7 13.0 13.5 13.5 2017/
violence NDHS, PSA
Sexual 2.9 5.0 4.8 5.3 5.5 5.2 2017/
violence NDHS, PSA
Physical and 1.0 3.3 3.4 4.0 4.2 2.8 2017/
sexual NDHS, PSA
violence

Physical or 13.8 18.2 14.1 14.3 14.8 14.8 2017/

sexual NDHS, PSA
violence

Number of 329 1,257 1,996 4,527 3,719 11,558 2017/

Women NDHS, PSA

Adapted from PSA, Factsheet on Men and Women in the Philippines. March 1, 2019
 Gender
Equality
 The Beijing
Declaration
And Platform
for Action
Women in Action