Women are not just entrepreneurs

Women entrepreneurs have been flourishing in the Philippines. They continue to be innovative, resourceful, and able to break barriers. However, numerous challenges still stand in the way: digitalization, access to funds and markets, and multiple other hindrances. Data from the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) in 2025 shows that 66% of MSMEs and 62% of newly registered Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) businesses are owned by women.

While the contributions of Filipina entrepreneurs have been recognized, women’s participation in the Philippine economy should be examined more broadly as not all women are entrepreneurs.

Women in the Informal Sector. It is estimated that 70% of Filipinos work in the informal sector with a disproportionate amount being women. The informal sector is wide, ranging from small home businesses, contractual jobs in the manufacturing and service sectors, and other underdeveloped sectors of the economy. Women make up a significant portion of this informal workforce, often working in unstable and low-paying jobs without any legal protections or social security as their work does not give them access to fair wages, benefits, or job security. Despite their hard work and contributions to the economy, they do not receive even a minimum amount of care or social and legal protection. Lack of data and the lack of attention given by lawmakers deny women their basic rights as workers. Nonetheless, they continue to work and contribute to the economy; without benefiting from the fruits of their labor.

Women Professionals. In 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that one million women entered the workforce, driven by the growth of the digital economy and emerging sectors. Women reach higher levels of education, such that the share of male and female employment in high-skilled jobs is almost equal. The services sector, made up of education, human health, and social work, are dominated by women. Women are nurses, doctors, lawyers, and teachers, among many other professions.

Apart from women’s participation in the domestic workforce, women Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) also contribute significantly. PSA statistics for 2023 show that of the 2.16 million OFWs, 1.20 million were women. Women make up a large number of the OFW population, still dominating in the services sector. This number equates to larger remittances to the Philippines, supporting their families and boosting the economy.

Women in the C-Suite. Workplace gender equality is necessary as the inclusion of women in decision-making positions demonstrates good governance and innovation. Gender equality and diversity in the workplace pose numerous benefits for individual companies, society, and the economy.

Two organizations I lead — the Philippine Women’s Economic Network (PhilWEN) and the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE) — published the Census on Women in Executive Leadership Teams (ELTs) in Philippine Publicly Listed Companies (PLCs), which looked at women’s corporate leadership. The census showed that women’s participation and representation is improving; 2022 statistics reveal that 13% of CEOs in Philippine PLCs were women; women hold 22% of board seats; women make up 40% of the ELTs in Philippine PLCs in 2022. The data proves that the visibility and decision-making power of women in the corporate sector is steadily on the rise. While not as quantifiable, women having such influence in corporations in the Philippines attests to their roles in and contributions to the Philippine economy.

BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION
Numerous barriers for working women remain: discrimination, lack of access to skills training, existing wage gaps, care responsibilities, and societal beliefs and attitudes towards working women. Women want to work and continue to fight for the ability to work and be properly compensated for it. The sustained barriers for women in the workforce are often overlooked, thus preventing their greater economic participation and their potential contribution.

One key burden is unpaid care work which women have to perform in addition to the work they do to gain income. A 2025 study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) concluded that unpaid housework negatively impacts the economy, owing to women being prevented from economic participation because of care work. Women typically tend to outperform men in housework and often cite that as the reason they cannot seek employment. When they do get employed, they receive lower pay due to their marital status, in comparison to their married male counterparts. Patriarchal and social constructs contribute to women being forced to do unpaid care work, making unpaid care work a norm.

UPLIFTING WOMEN, UPLIFTING THE NATION
Women want to work and continue to fight for the ability to work and be properly compensated for it. Women should not be boxed into certain roles. Economic participation beyond entrepreneurship, and the recognition of women’s roles and challenges is a step forward in empowering women.

The challenges for women’s participation in the economy seem insurmountable, but the simple acknowledgement that these issues exist can light the spark to create change. The entirety of women’s economic empowerment should be a priority. We can focus on policies and programs that boost economic participation, such as improving the rights of workers in the informal sector through the passage of the Magna Carta for Workers in the Informal Economy, providing alternatives for care work, and addressing gendered social norms that affect women’s participation in the economy. We must ensure that women across all sectors are given the support they need.

Women already make significant contributions, which can be improved to not only boost the economy but also to support and protect women. Support for women means that their children, families, and communities are equally supported. It is imperative that women, who represent almost 50% of our population, be prioritized — after all, nations that uplift their women uplift the whole nation.

Ma. Aurora “Boots” D. Geotina-Garcia is a member of the MAP Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and the MAP Education Committee. She is founding chair and president of PhilWEN and chair of the Governing Council of the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment. She was the first female chair of the Bases Conversion & Development Authority. She is president of Mageo Consulting, Inc., a corporate finance advisory and consulting firm.

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