National Women’s Month 2022 highlights progress on empowerment, gender equality

Culminating with its six-year theme, “”WE Make CHANGE Work for Women”, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) launched the celebration of National Women’s Month last March 1, 2022 in line with today’s International Women’s Day.

According to the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), this year’s celebration aimed to “highlight the gains achieved for women and girls, assess actions towards gender equality and look forward to steps that must be taken to ensure progress in empowering women.”

The commission also put emphasis on the effect of the Covid-19 crisis on the women’s rights agenda.

“With the country still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, studies and data show that the health crisis stalled movements towards gender equality, worsening inequalities, further exposing gender gaps, and exacerbating vulnerabilities in social and political, and economic aspects,” it said.

PCW reminds the different stakeholders to “celebrate the gains and be proactive in preventing backsliding from what we have achieved in gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE)” and to: (1) assess the gains already achieved towards GEWE and prevent  sliding back as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other national issues; (2) inspire actions to promote a gender-responsive pandemic recovery; and (3) draw attention to the priority gender issues that must be addressed by future public servants, as outlined in the recently-updated GEWE Plan, which spans until the year 2025.

Further, the PCW also calls the stakeholders to contemplate on the question, “Did WE Make CHANGE Work for Women? How and to what extent?” With this, the PCW hoped that the stakeholders can measure the changes implemented towards GEWE, in reference to the laws made for women, particularly RA 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women.

This year, the PCW prepared a list of activities to achieve the celebration’s goal. On this day, the agency launched the “Pulso para sa Kababaihan, Tungo sa Kaunlaran Online Poll”, an online poll that aims “to set a roadmap for future leaders” by getting the people’s opinion on certain issues that are to be addressed. Other activities include today’s International Women’s Day Celebration, #PurpleTuesdays or #PurpleYourIcon where different government and private agencies wear purple on every Tuesday of March to show their support to women’s rights, and “Musika ng Kababaihan Fridays (#MNKFridays)” where they will be streaming songs from the MusikJuana Songwriting Contest 2021 and other PCW advocacy songs on women’s empowerment.