The Changing Role of Women in Filipino Society

When many people think of women in Asian culture, they think of a male dominated society where women don’t have as many rights as their male counterparts. However, the Filipino are different. Filipino women have always enjoyed greater equality than women in other nations in Southeast Asia.

For starters, Filipino women today serve as heads in the family arrangement, handling the money, acting as religious mentors and even arranging marriages for their sons and daughters. This is a sharp contrast to women being subjugated to their husbands.

This does not mean that they have equality everywhere. In the workplace, Filipino women are paid less and are often hired for lower positions even if they are qualified to earn more money. On the home front, women carry a heavy burden in the homes in order to support them financially while men can keep their money and are not obligated to the family.

Thankfully, strides are being made to equalize this perception of inequality. Human Resources Managements are seeing to it that a lot more women hold high ranking positions in large and small organizations. More women are holding managerial positions in banks, government, and multinational companies.

Even though they have had a female president, involvement in politics is not considered women’s business, and many women still hold to the tradition that a woman cannot take a higher position than her husband. Part of this mindset is due to the effect of colonization on Filipino women.

Like women in many parts of the world, Filipino women have had to fight for their proper place in their society. They have worked hard to extend themselves beyond the confines of their homes and show that they have the strength and power to control business and politics.

All of the following are true about Filipino women today EXCEPT that ______.