This was conveyed by Rachel Mary Anne Basas, ADB Gender Equality Division, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Gender Officer, on Monday during her presentation at the 41st ASEAN Social Security Association (ASSA) Conference and Board Meetings held in Parañaque City, the Philippines, on November 25–27.
She stated that these initiatives include extending social protection to informal workers and addressing unpaid work by investing in subsidized care services such as childcare, eldercare, and disability care to reduce the burden on women.
Basas urged governments to raise awareness about the availability of social security benefits, particularly for women in rural and marginalized communities, and involve men in caregiving, financial decision-making, and gender-based violence prevention.
She also called for expanding access to affordable childcare and early childhood education services, as well as providing financial support for women in vulnerable situations.
Citing a study released by the ADB in 2015, Basas stated that for Asia and the Pacific, the results of the study indicated that generally, women were less protected than men.
"Social protection expenditures are higher for men than for women in both developed and developing countries," she pointed out.
On social insurance, Basas said that except for North and Central Asia, women were also less covered than men.
"And now, 2024, almost a decade, there are still gender gaps affecting social protection and medical coverage," Basas remarked.
Citing a 2024 International Labour Organization (ILO) study titled "World Social Protection Report," Basas noted that social protection coverage in the Asia Pacific still reflects significant gender inequality.
For the Philippines, she noted that the government's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) helped address some of the gender gaps in social protection.
The 4Ps is the government's national poverty reduction strategy and human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfer to poor households for a maximum period of seven years to improve health, nutrition, and education.
Gender dimensions in social protection addressed by the 4Ps include health and maternal care, education, and intrahousehold resource distribution, Basas stated.
The 4Ps also included family development sessions focused on equipping women with knowledge on gender issues, health, and family planning.
The program also encompassed efforts to engage men in gender equality initiatives.
Apart from the 4Ps, Basas lauded the Philippines' move to expand the maternity leave law to 105 days.
"The Philippines is one of the most progressive in the Asia Pacific region, and not all countries in this region can enable mothers to have that kind of number of days for a maternity leave," she remarked.
Source: PNA
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