TIME FOR SOME PAMPERING San Juan City marks National Women鈥檚 Month with some activities organized by the local government on Friday, like free health-care services, legal consultations and鈥攊n the case of these ladies鈥攁 well-deserved 鈥渨ellness鈥� session. 鈥擭I脩O JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� As the country observes National Women鈥檚 Month, the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) on Friday called for more employment opportunities for women after recent government data showed there are more women than men who have completed college and secondary education.
Citing the 2021 labor force survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the CPD said the labor force participation rate is lower for women at 51.2 percent, compared to men at 75.4 percent.
As such, the unemployment rate is higher for women at 8.2 percent compared to men at 7.5 percent. There is also a higher proportion of unpaid family women workers, 11.3 percent, compared to men, 4.7 percent.
According to a study released in February by the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, a think tank of the House of Representatives, more female than male workers have completed secondary and college education.
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The study, citing the 2021 labor force survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority, showed the percentage of women who have completed college at 14.5 percent, compared with the percentage of men at 10.5 percent.
Women also dominated completion levels for secondary education at 84.8 percent, as compared with the men鈥檚 completion rate at 81.4 percent.
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In a statement, CPD executive director Lisa Grace Bersales said: 鈥淲e have come a long way, but we still have more work to do. We need more opportunities, particularly in fields that are dominated by men.鈥�
Family planning
The CPD said the rising numbers of women using family planning methods are 鈥渁 remarkable progress in the empowerment of women.鈥�
It cited a Department of Health report in 2023 showing that more than 8.6 million Filipino women were using family planning methods, higher than the 2022 figure of 8.3 million.
鈥淭his corresponds to the country鈥檚 current state, showing that births among women are lower, at 1.9 children, which is below replacement level,鈥� the CPD said.
For modern methods of family planning, pills remain to be the most popular method, with 34.48 percent of the total current users, and injectables coming in second at 20.66 percent.
Implants
Implants had the highest increase in the numbers of users, growing by 24.11 percent.
Bersales emphasized the importance of data鈥攑articularly disaggregated data鈥攖o enable targeted programming and ensure that vulnerable groups, specifically women and girls, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and those in isolated and disadvantaged areas, are effectively reached.
The advancement of women from different demographics is among the main thrusts of the Philippine Population and Development Plan of Action 2023-28 that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved in November 2023.