Women comprise about half of the
world’s total population but their contribution to economic development has
always been low and continues to fall far below its potential. At present, “labor
markets across the world remain divided along gender lines” having women account
for most of the unpaid work, i.e., household work (or nonmarket production). [1]
The
importance of nonmarket production has been a recurring theme in the
international community with some countries endeavoring to include this in their
Gross Domestic Products or Gross National Products. In the United States, Simon
Kuznets proposed such model to the U.S. Department of Commerce during the
1940s. However, they found it challenging to produce consistent and up-to-date
accounts that would be useful to business and public policy, thus they were
constrained to include only those goods and services that may be measured by money.[2]
In 2013, President Benigno Aquino
III signed Republic Act (R.A.) 10361, also known as the “Domestic Workers Act”
or “Batas Kasambahay”. The law was
specifically enacted to protect the rights of domestic workers and to recognize
their special needs in the labor force. Moreover, it served as the country’s
compliance to the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 189
which was signed by the President and concurred to by the Senate in 2012. This
Convention was the first to set the global standard for domestic workers.
But what is interesting about this
law is that it does not only hit the labor aspect but also the gender gap as
reflected in the country’s economy. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
estimates that there are 1.9 million kasambahays
all over the country.[3] As
of December 13, 2014, the DOLE reported around 105,000 of them enrolled in the
Social Security System (SSS), which is higher by 100,000 before the law took
effect (only a year ago). [4]
Moreover, it may be possible that the
Batas Kasambahay played a major role
in the improvement of the Philippines’ ranking in the World Economic Fund’s (WEF)
Global Gender Gap Index. In its 2013 report (the year the law was promulgated),
the Philippines was ranked fifth and was the first time the Philippines entered
into the Top 5 list. According to the WEF, this may be attributed to “small
improvements in the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindexes"[5] which
may have been captured— thanks to the new law.
It is important to note though that we
may still need more years to determine the trend of kasambahay registrations and if it does impact the nation
economically. Nevertheless, it is a perfect example of recording household work
(with the help of SSS, Pag-IBIG, and PhilHealth, especially without taxes
imposed on the kasambahays’ salaries).
Recording household work was and still remains to be an abstract concept to
many but our nation may have this as a starting point and a step closer in
attaining gender equality.
[1] “Women, Work, and the Economy: Macroeconomic
Gains from Gender Equity”. International Monetary Fund, September 2013. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2013/sdn1310.pdf
[2] “Accounting for Nonmarket Production: A Prototype
Satellite Account Using the American Time Use Survey”. U.S. Bureau of
Economic Analysis. http://bea.gov/papers/pdf/Landefeld__Nonmarket_Production_ATUS.pdf
[3] http://www.dole.gov.ph/files/Q & A on Batas Kasambahay (RA No 10361).pdf
[4] http://www.gov.ph/2014/12/13/dole-reports-on-status-of-kasambahay-law-implementation/
[5] “World Economic Fund: Gender Gap Report of
2013”. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2013.pdf
Filipina maids are now protected. Thanks for this Kasambahay Law.
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