Legarda Joins Calls to #PressforProgress on Gender Parity

Senator Loren Legarda joined the call to #PressforProgress on gender parity, which is the theme of this year’s celebration of International Women’s Day (March 8), and said that the Philippines can lead the global effort to achieve gender equality and women empowerment.

Legarda, a three-term senator who chairs the Committees on Finance, Foreign Relations and Climate Change, said that the Philippines is among the top countries that is successful in empowering women and addressing issues on gender gap.

She noted that, in the yearly Global Gender Gap Report (GGGR) by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Philippines is always among the top ten countries globally in the gender equality index.

However, in the 2017 GGGR, which covered 144 countries, while the Philippines ranked No. 1 in educational attainment, along with 26 other countries, it needs to further improve in other areas such as economic participation and opportunity (rank 25), health and survival (rank 36), and political empowerment (rank 13).

“The Philippines can lead the global effort to close gender gap while also addressing the issues women continue to face in the country. We can share with other countries our best practices on women empowerment as well as our laws which can be used as guide by other nations in crafting policies on gender equality,” said Legarda, who authored several of the country’s laws on the protection of women’s rights, including the Magna Carta of Women, Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and its expanded version, and the Domestic Workers Act.

Legarda said that providing opportunities for women in education, in the workplace, in rural development, in governance and leadership roles, and ensuring that their special needs are addressed, would not only result in gender empowerment but also contribute to poverty alleviation and economic growth.

“We must provide women the needed support to have the confidence to lead and be at the forefront of efforts to improve Filipino communities and take initiatives that will contribute to the nation’s progress,” Legarda concluded.