The Philippines has a lot to work with providing equal rights for women through laws and government initiatives. Whilst there is an urgent need for these, they do not appear out of thin air—it must be put to place by our lawmakers—many of whom are men that have no knowledge of what women need.
In comparison with the previous years, the number of women that run for governance positions are getting less. According to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), for the 2025 midterm elections, only 21.8 % of the certificate of candidacy filers were female.
Half of our population is comprised of women, at 56.6 million according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). In 2024, we had ranked 25th out of 146 countries in the World Gender Gap index, dropping nine places from the previous year.
Regardless of the numbers and ranking, the amount of prominent female leaders in the country is too little—this disparity between male and female leaders is gravely felt with the scarcity of laws that cater to the needs of women.
Deeply rooted in patriarchy
Women are caged in stereotypes that were embedded through the norms set by patriarchal standards. The common ideology of men being the “haligi ng tahanan” while women are “ilaw ng tahanan” had deep implications on the gender roles Filipinos have to follow within a household—which also translated to the type of leadership Filipinos go for in a political sense.
From the World Values Survey Wave 7 conducted in the Philippines, it revealed that many agreed men are better political leaders than women. But how can people know better when it has always been men that overtook the political landscape?
Stereotypes are undeniable, I experienced this first hand as someone who takes up leadership roles—may it be in group works or school organizations—there is this notion that as a female leader, I am a “Girl Boss” with a negative connotation of being too bossy, aggressive, and emotional.
In an interview with a Gender and Development (GAD) Specialist in Benilde and Senior GAD Specialist from the Philippine Commission on Women, Ms. Nicole Trisha Panganiban emphasized, “Tradition affects us because of course [it already hinders] women, na ‘pag ikaw ay [isang] leader, you're already breaking the norm and when you're breaking the norm, hopefully it will be welcomed—however, madalas hindi siya welcomed.”
“That traditional perspective hinders women from fully realizing their potential,” she added.
Seed of future women leaders
Upon inspecting the current political landscape, it is noticeable that most of the women partaking in politics are part of a political dynasty—either by choice or placeholders to their male counterparts. Their views and advocacies oftentimes do not align with the needs of fellow women, rather, for their own benefit. In the coming Midterm Election, we need to examine each candidates’ principles and values first, and make sure their agenda is for women and gender equality.
There is a multitude of women with potential from different sectors which can be the source of new blood of leaders. We have representation starting from the student female leaders up to the Senate with Sen. Risa Hontiveros—who continuously fight for women’s advocacies.
Women have continuously proved through our long standing fight that we should have a voice in organizations, partylists, local government units, Congress, and the Senate, For who can better voice out the concerns of women but women themselves.
Nevertheless, this voice is not limited to women only as what we need is to elect more advocates that would amplify women’s voices in lawmaking. May they be men, women, or anyone in between, as long as they stand for pro-women ideologies then we could elevate as a more gender equal country.