Top in gender equality in Asia, yet 83% of women say "men should earn, women should do housework"

According to The Financial News, a new survey has found that women in the Philippines place greater value on their role in protecting and maintaining the household than on participating in the workforce.

On the 16th (local time), the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Philippine polling agency Social Weather Stations (SWS) released the survey to mark March, the country’s National Women’s Month.
Social Weather Stations (SWS) stated that a large share of women in the Philippines agree with the idea that "a woman’s place is in the home."
According to the survey, 83% of women in the Philippines agreed with the statement that "men should earn money while women take care of the home and family." This is a 13 percentage-point increase from 1994, about 30 years ago, when 70% agreed with the same statement.
In the same survey, 81% of women responded that "being a full-time housewife is just as fulfilling as having a paid job." In addition, 75% agreed with the view that "having a job is good, but most women ultimately want a home and children."
Despite modernization and advances in women’s rights, the findings suggest that traditional gender roles have become even more entrenched among women in the Philippines, who increasingly express satisfaction with these roles and place high value on family life.
The Philippines has been recognized as one of Asia’s leading gender-equal countries in various international indices, including ranking first among Asian nations in the World Economic Forum (WEF) gender equality index in 2018. Yet the survey shows that, in practice, many women still see their role within the home as central and highly important.
Commenting on the results, the Philippine women’s group GABRIELA National Alliance of Women argued that the responses "reflect perceptions shaped more by social structures and cultural influences than by women’s genuine free choice," adding, "In the Philippines, women still shoulder a disproportionate share of housework and caregiving responsibilities, and gender gaps persist in the labor market."

moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter