PH BPO sector is plagued with gender inequality — survey
The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector in the Philippines is plagued with gender inequality, according to non-government organizations (NGO) Oxfam Philippines and Investing in Women, as well as Miriam College’s Women and Gender Institute (WAGI).
According to a joint survey, the three agencies showed that most women are burdened with more unpaid care work (UCW) than men due to gender stereotypes.
Oxfam Philippines Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Social Accountability (MELSA) Manager Randee Cabaces said that the “traditional view” that men should be the breadwinners influenced employment statistics.
It is the same in the workplace, according to Cabaces. He explained that men are given more “intellectual tasks” that involve decision-making, while women are given tasks that need a “feminine touch,” such as dealing with people.
Because of this, around 11% of the respondents felt “disapproved” in a workplace dominated by specific sexuality, and only 13% said they always felt discriminated against or harassed.
To address this issue, Oxfam Philippines’ Portfolio Officer for Advocacy Jhuvilyn Dormitorio said that employers are responsible for stepping up and doing more in terms of molding and enforcing the non-gender biased values on their workers.
