Iris Young

Lara Galan considered herself very accomplished in her 20s, as one does when one receives a promotion and becomes the youngest manager of a Cebu-based publishing company. Her triumph was short-lived, however, when she unintentionally found out that two of her counterparts—both male—were paid substantially more than she was. 

“I assumed it was because I was new to the team, although it wasn’t my first managerial position,” she said.

Marmel Reposar had a similar experience when she landed an assistant manager role at a large, multinational business process outsourcing (BPO) company. Like Galan, she was soon privy to the uncomfortable fact she was being paid half of what a male counterpart doing half the work was making. 

“But being young, I wanted so badly to prove myself that I accepted it,” said Reposar.

It’s been over 40 years since the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was enacted by the United Nations General Assembly, setting the standard for equal representation, both in and out of the workplace. Addressing the gender pay gap was the Convention’s primary focus. Data published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that the global gross domestic product (GDP) could increase by up to 35 per cent if the pay gap is bridged. 

Despite modest strides in recent years, the 2021 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) showed a 0.6 per cent drop in the Global Gender Gap score. As it stands, there remains a 32 per cent gap that needs to be closed worldwide, which is estimated to take 135.6 years to accomplish.

One country that has shown substantial regression, both globally and in the Asia-Pacific region, is the Philippines. Ranked eighth in 2018 among the countries closest to achieving parity, it has since dropped to 17th place. The country has closed only 78.4 per cent of its pay gap to date.

The gender pay gap is only the tip of the iceberg of women leaders’ challenges. Workplace sexism and gender stereotypes are also alive and well in a patriarchal country like the Philippines.

According to Reposar, when she worked for the said BPO company in the early 2000s, its organizational chart primarily comprised of men at the top, with women only appearing near the bottom in lower-level management roles. 

“I just checked, and it’s still the same right now,” she said.

As a young female manager, Reposar recalled name-calling and aggression from male colleagues. 

“I endured it for two or three months and finally found another job. Until today, when someone raises their voice, I still get scared, but I’m handling it so much better.”

For Galan, the worst part was having her capabilities undermined. 

“It started to bother me even more when I noticed my opinion wasn’t valued as much during meetings. Every time I shared some insights, it seemed the two [male counterparts] weren’t interested at all and would just nod before going back to their own discussion. That was the tipping point for me since it brought down my self-confidence, and I almost thought of resigning.” 

Workplace sexism and gender stereotypes are alive and well in a patriarchal country like the Philippines.

Undermining behaviour is not limited to the corporate workplace. Chyrel Gomez, founder and CEO of DriedFlowersPH, has had her fair share of unfair bias—specifically, that her Caucasian boyfriend funds her start-up. 

“Some people find it hard to believe that I’m capable of funding my business. What they don’t realize is that I built it slowly, over time,” she said.

Gender inequity and inequality remain legitimate problems—and will continue to be so for many years to come, not just in the Philippines but worldwide. Still, there are exponentially more women leaders and entrepreneurs today than ever before. According to the 2020 Grant Thornton Women in Business report, the proportion of women in senior management is at 29 per cent globally.

Gomez believes that women shouldn’t have to prove anything. “I believe, over time, my small wins will teach everyone who the boss is,” said Gomez. 

Reposar, who is turning 40 this year, is now a scrum master who has cultivated considerable career autonomy over the years. She expressed regret at not standing up for herself all those years ago as a young manager. 

“Early on, you need to stand tall because if you let them diminish your worth the first few times, you might end up having a difficult time changing that.”

“It’s sad that I had to go through great lengths just to prove that a young female manager has what it takes in the corporate world,” said Galan. Now 36 and a senior manager for the Philippine arm of Lexmark International, a company that champions gender equality, she exudes the self-assurance of one who knows her worth. 

“There will always be people who’ll doubt you regardless of what you do, so just go ahead and let your results do the talking,” she said.