Neda: Pinays in their 20s choose family over career

MANILA, Philippines — Because of the country’s patriarchal culture that expects women to take care of the household, Filipino women age 25 to 29 now choose to build a family rather than their career, a study by National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said on Wednesday.

Released this week, the Neda study titled “Determinants of Female Labor Force Participation in the Philippines,” found that “culture — as reflected in the patriarchal family structure, stereotyped gender roles and religion — affected” women’s decision to join the workforce.

“Marriage and childbearing are associated with a significant decline in female labor force participation,” especially among those in the 25-29 age range, the study noted.

“More patriarchal family structures reduce a woman’s employment rate by 8-13 percentage points,” it added.

To prod more women to work rather than stay at home, Neda recommended “a review of educational learning materials and storybooks in early childhood to promote gender equality,” more paternal leaves and an extended paternity leave to give fathers “a fair share of caring for their babies,” and more day care centers in government and private companies.

The study also found that the number of women in the labor force “are consistently lower than that of men across all levels of education.”

Neda said investing in women’s education toward getting a college diploma was important, as “the effect of a tertiary education on increasing labor force participation is significantly stronger for women than for men.”

The state planning agency also sought to remove discrimination in the workplace based on a study on how Protestants and other religious affiliations are more likely to be employed than Muslims.