Why Women?
Inclusion of women as potential leaders in the political processes and governance at the national, local, and community levels ensures the integration of their perspectives and experiences into the decision-making processes, which is important to a country’s developmental goal.
Women’s full and effective political participation is a matter of human right and is essential to the achievement of gender equality, democratic governance, and a more peaceful society. Gender equality shapes a country’s growth, competitiveness, and potential.
Women leaders generally adopt participative and inclusive styles of leadership and are more transformational leaders than men, are generally more responsive to the citizen’s needs, and offer increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines.
Communities are strengthened through the active participation of women as members of constituencies because when you empower women you attain the double dividend of empowering not only herself but her family and her community.
Higher numbers of women in the political sphere generally contributes to stronger attention to women’s issues and facilitates women’s direct engagement in public decision-making, which in turn have a ripple effect in all areas of sustainable development.
Voting patterns of women in PH
Age Range
In the year 2019, the ages 30-44 years old dominated the registration while the age range of 18-29 came second. There are also more female voters ranging from 51% compared to males.
A study about Filipinos Voting Behavior also stated that age, gender, and region of origin tell us a pattern of responses. Older people are more likely to get bribed than younger ones. Males are more likely to get bribed than female respondents.
Preference
In the Philippines, a study of political values of Filipino women by Tapales (1992) reported that Filipino women are politically aware and conscious but refrain from engaging in political discussion. They are not members of any political organization or do not have any direct contact with government leaders but their political stand or activity is voting and attending rallies.
Women population vs. Actual voters compared to men
On 2016, it is said that women dominated the 2016 Election. With over 54.3 million Filipino people registered, 22,896,668 (51%) are women. What’s evident in the May 2016 elections, though, is that women have become a significant, discerning community of voters.
According to a study about the Voting Practices in the Philippine Election during 2020, it was said that In terms of gender, the majority of the respondents are females 31 (62%), and only 19 (38%) are males. This is because; the population of women outnumbers the population of men.
How many women officials are elected
From 1998 to 2016, the percentage of women elected into public office ranged from 16.1 percent to 21.44 percent, reaching its peak in the 2016 elections.
Of the 44,448 candidates in 2013, only 18 percent, or 7,921 were women. Of the 33 candidates for senator, only eight were women. And of the 630 candidates who ran for district representatives, only one in six or 125 were women. Currently, only three women are seeking the highest offices of the land – Grace Poe and Miriam Defensor-Santiago are two of the five candidates contesting the presidency, and Leni Robredo, one of six candidates for vice-president.
The story of the victory of Vice President Leni Robredo and a male who denies her win tells us what kind of Politics this is… it is composed of entitled men who couldn’t believe a woman beat them.
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Links:
- Women’s Political Participation and Representation (Gov.ph)
- PCW Statement on the 79th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage in the Philippines (Gov.ph)
- More women voters, but still more men in power (Philippine Star)
- Voters practices in the Philippine Elections (Journal of Critical Reviews)
- A Psychographics Study on the Voting Behavior of the Cebuano Electorate (Philippine Statistics Authority)
- Effects of Gender and Social Status on How Filipinos Perceive Political Candidates (pssc.org)
- IN NUMBERS: Registered voters for the May 2019 elections (Rappler)
