Pinays Work Longer Hours Than Pinoys - ILO

I got this article from the Department of Budget and Management.  This is so true!  We women are masters in multi-tasking.

This role reversal - Filipino women working longer than their male counterparts - showed that two of three Filipino women workers are more likely to work over 64 hours per week. The phenomena is driven largely by the expansion of the services sector which tends to employ more women than men.

Impact on Women. While longer working hours mean being able to help make ends meet, it has a considerable effect on women's health and on time spent with the family. A major concern relative to the situation is that women, in addition to their paid work, also engage in unpaid domestic tasks such as taking care of the children and of sick members of the family.

Work-Family Equilibrium.Attaining a balance between career and family and alleviating women's 'multiple burden' need to be confronted at all levels. The study provides certain policy points to vance decent work/ working time which include the reduction of long working hours to lessen the risk of occupational injuries and illnesses; the adoption of family-friendly working time measures, i.e., flexi-time, emergency family leave, part-time work, etc.; and the adoption of reasonable statutory hours, among others.

While these measures may help workers devote more time for their families, these do not provide answers to women's multiple burden.This is a more difficult challenge that could be adressed at the cultural/ societal level.

A Shared Responsibility. Promotion of shared responsibility ( between men and women) in the household and family care could greatly alleviate women's load in the household. However, this is easier said than done. Cultural biases and the stereotyped role of women as homemakers somehow impede men's greater participation in domestic work ( such as caring for children, housekeeping, etc.)

To help break the cultural biases and traditional gender division of labor, and ensure men's equal share in household responsibilities, both men and women should be made aware of the unequal relationship between them through gender awareness and sensitivity.

Institutions of mass socialization such as media and formal education, if used well, can be agents of societal, cultural change. As a start, books depicting women as homemakers and men as income-earners should be revised to avoid sexism.

Though it may take some time to attain gender equality, efforts to eliminate the gender gap have been provided in the government's national budget to address gender issues and concerns. Non-government organizations and other civic groups are also vigorously pursuing gender-related initiatives.