DSWD: Nearly half of women jobless

Forty-eight percent of poor women in Central Visayas have no jobs.

According to data gathered by the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), an Information Management System of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7), despite being a major contributor in the development of the country, most women in the Central Visayas still don’t have any means of livelihood.

NHTS-PR data showed that the women sector constitutes 901,716 or 48 percent of the poor households in Central Visayas. More than half of these women are under 18 years old and are found mostly in rural areas.

In the countryside, women partner with their husbands in farming, forestry works and fishing. Others performed menial jobs such as laborers, unskilled workers and market sales workers.

About 19.1 percent of these women were not able to finish primary level, while 14.3 percent graduated from elementary school and 11 percent finished secondary education.

The DSWD-7 urged legislators, local government units and non-government organizations (NGOs) to use the data to formulate appropriate social protection programs and services for the unemployed women.

There are 118 towns and cities in the region that had already entered into an agreement  with the DSWD-7 for data sharing and utilization.

Non-government organizations like the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc., Outreach Program on Trainings, Integral Organizing and Networking for Solidarity Inc. (OPTIONS) and Alay Lakad Foundation also signed an agreement with the agency for the undertaking.

The database of poor households shows various poverty thresholds like the composition of poor households, the household members’ educational attainment and occupation, features of the housing structure and access to basic services and facilities like water, electricity and toilet.