The Philippines, often hailed as one the most gender-equal countries in the world, placed 17th out of 156 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2021. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines came in second only to New Zealand, which ranked fourth globally.
The report doesn't paint the whole picture, said Nathalie Africa-Verceles, director of the Center for Women and Gender Studies at the University of the Philippines. "There are still many laws that need to be enacted and still many provisions of existing laws that need to be revised because there are provisions in existing laws that are discriminatory to women. But when we talk about gender, we don’t only refer to women," she said, emphasizing that gender equality includes the rights of the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning) community.
Congress, she added, should prioritize passing the SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression) Equality Bill. "I'm very disappointed it's taking so long."
In this B-Side episode, Ms. Africa-Verceles speaks with Gillian M. Cortez (who was a reporter for BusinessWorld at the time of the interview) about contradictions between Philippine culture and Philippine laws, in terms of gender equality.
This B-Side episode was recorded remotely on May 18. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.
