Building Pathways to Gender Equality and Sustainability through the Women’s Empowerment Principles

Across the globe, gender gaps remain in labor force participation, high-medium skilled employment, and representation in leadership and decision-making roles.1 The COVID-19 pandemic has continuously increased these gender gaps as women and girls bear the brunt of the pandemic in the higher rates of income loss, increased levels of intimate partner violence and more time required on domestic duties and care work. UN Women has developed the country policy briefs to examine how governments and companies are taking action on gender equality issues and identify and promote gender responsive policies in selected Southeast Asian countries. This policy brief is an analysis of the situation as it pertains to the Philippines. It also offers a practical guide to stakeholders, particularly the government, on how to maximize the WEPs as a framework to stimulate public and private sectors actions that will accelerate the progress to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDGs 5 (Gender Equality) and 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).