Women comprise 40% of leaders in firms

Women comprised 40 percent of executive leadership teams (ELT) among companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange from 2020-2022, research released on Tuesday by the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE) showed.

The research, titled "Census on Women in Leadership Roles in Philippine Publicly Listed Companies," highlighted the critical role that gender diversity plays in the country's corporate leadership landscape.

According to the census, from 2020-2022, two-fifths of ELTs in publicly listed companies (PLCs) are women, with the number of female chief executive officers (CEOs) also seeing a gradual increase.

In addition, the census claims that many women in ELTs continue to occupy functional or support roles, adding that the data indicates there has been an improvement in the representation of women in line or operational roles.

The number of women on companies' boards of directors also grew, reaching 21 percent in 2022, while female chief executive officers remain underrepresented at just 13 percent.

The census noted that despite some progress in diversity, there was a need for concrete gender targets, as only 2.0 percent of large firms and none of the small and medium-sized firms have set specific gender diversity targets. Furthermore, most firms have broad diversity policies that must be complemented by concrete targets in order to be measured and achieved.

"'The Census on Women in Leadership Roles in Philippine Publicly Listed Companies' is more than just a report; it's a call to action for the Philippine business community to embrace gender equality as a driver of sustainable growth," said Ma. Aurora Geotina-Garcia, founding chairperson and president of the Philippine Women's Economic Network and chairperson of the PBCWE's Governing Council.

"This study is a vital resource for organizations committed to strengthening gender equality in the workplace," she emphasized.

Geotina-Garcia said that women in corporate boardrooms comprise only around 1 percent a year, adding that there are two schools of thought on how to increase representation: regulators should make women representation mandatory or make women representation voluntary.

"Ideally, the desired representation of women in boards should be around 30 percent. We have countries who've actually imposed quotas, including Malaysia, which is [a member of] Asean, and countries like France," she said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

However, if regulators impose quotas for gender diversity, companies would have the tendency to deliberately and intentionally recruit females, or they would just comply by putting their wives or daughters in their ELTs.

"It doesn't necessarily follow that if you put a female relative on the board, that they're incompetent. So, the understanding should be that, yes, you put them on the board to meet the quota, with the assumption that they have the ability to contribute to the board," she explained.

The other approach is to make it voluntary, but making it voluntary will make the increase slower, and will take a lot of effort and time before gender equality in the workplace will happen.

"In my view, make it mandatory but not penalize them immediately. Give them time to comply. And then eventually, they don't consciously and intentionally say that when we start looking for board members, we should also deliberately have a goal of [hiring] women," she added.

For his part, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner lawyer Javey Paul Francisco said, "We at the SEC are uniquely positioned to lead by example. We are committed to implementing policies that enhance corporate governance and champion gender equality, ensuring that our actions contribute to a more equitable and effective business environment."

He added that amid the challenges that lie ahead, the journey toward gender equality is far from over.

"Our vision is a future where gender equality is a given; where it is not just a matter of social justice but rather a strategic necessity and a smart business move leading to greater employee retention, enhanced creativity, and overall better business outcomes," he said.

Census-on-Women-in-Executive-Leadership-Teams-in-Philippine-Publicly-Listed-Companies.pdf

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Source: Manila Times

Infrastructure spending improves

The national Government’s (NG) spending on infrastructure jumped by 17% in June as it increased disbursements for completed public works projects, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.

In its latest report, the DBM said infrastructure and other capital outlays rose by 17% to P139.7 billion in June from P119.4 billion in the same month a year ago.

Month on month, infrastructure spending inched up by 2.45% from P136.4 billion in May.

The uptick in June infrastructure spending was attributed to “disbursements made by the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) for completed road, bridge and multi-purpose building projects, prior years of right-of-way claims, and progress billings for other road infrastructure projects funded under the Unprogrammed Appropriations,” the DBM said.

The NG also spent on capital outlay projects under the Department of National Defense’s Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program.

In June, infrastructure spending included locally funded projects under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace, Reconciliation and Unity’s PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn (PAMANA) Program such as road networks, flood control, and water supply systems, among others.

The government also spent on the construction, repair and rehabilitation of justice halls nationwide.

Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc., said the uptick in infrastructure spending in June was reflected in the faster second-quarter economic growth.

“The government pushed to spend and supported domestic demand weakness in the second quarter amid the El Niño impact and elevated interest rates,” he said in a Viber message.

Preliminary data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by an annual 6.3% in the April-to-June period, quicker than the revised 5.8% growth in the first quarter and 4.3% in the second quarter of 2023.

PSA data also showed government spending rose by 10.7% in the second quarter, a reversal of the 7.1% contraction a year earlier.

“Preparations for the midterm elections may have also increased the urgency to expedite the rollout and completion of more infrastructure projects before the election ban by early 2025, and to show more accomplishments/results that may be felt by the electorate,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

FIRST HALF

For the first half, infrastructure and other capital outlays increased by 20.6% to P611.8 billion from P507.2 billion a year ago.

This exceeded the P545.3-billion program for the period by 12.2% “as a result of the efforts of the DPWH to speed up the completion of its ongoing projects and expedite the processing of payment claims both from prior year’s obligations and the current year’s budget,” the DBM said.

The DBM also said there were direct payments made for foreign-assisted road and rail transport projects under the Public Works and Transporation departments in the first half.

“As early as January, we already provided them (implementing agencies) their allotments and most of the DPWH projects were already undergoing early procurement… By January, they already implemented most of the projects,” Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman told a briefing on Wednesday.

Overall infrastructure disbursements, which also accounted for the infrastructure components of transfers to local government units (LGUs), and subsidy and equity to government-owned and -controlled corporations, rose by 18.4% to P720.5 billion as of end-June from P608.6 billion last year.

This exceeded the government’s P671.3-billion program for the period by 7.33%, data showed. It was also equivalent to 5.7% of gross domestic product (GDP).

“Infrastructure spending and MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses) will continue to drive disbursements for the remaining months of the year, with 56.1% and nearly 52% of their full-year program, respectively, expected this second semester,” the DBM said.

For infrastructure spending, the DBM said this includes payments for ongoing construction works.

“The said expenditures will hopefully help buttress strong economic growth by creating demand in the construction sector or supporting other related services industries, while also facilitating the recovery of the agriculture sector,” the department said.

Terry L. Ridon, a public investment analyst and convenor of think tank InfraWatch PH, said he expects infrastructure spending to further increase this year.

“Infrastructure agencies should try their best to improve their absorptive capacities for this year’s projects, particularly as 2025 is an election year in which the law mandates a suspension of project implementation for a specific period of time,” he said in a Viber chat.

Mr. Asuncion said the government should focus spending on infrastructure, flood control and energy generation projects.

“The challenge is that it would take time to put new projects up and going,” he said.

The government aims to spend 5-6% of GDP annually for infrastructure through 2028.

Source: Business World

Old Age Poverty and Active Ageing in ASEAN: Trends and Opportunities

[The World Senior Citizen's Day is celebrated on 21 August each year. The celebration took place for the first time in 1991.]

Poverty in Old Age

The current method of tracking old-age poverty involves disaggregating the current poverty measure according to age. However, poverty in later life is not the same as it is in youth and early adulthood. Older people are less likely to emerge from long-term poverty because of receding capability, deteriorating health, and limited access to financial resources. Thus, research on poverty must analyze old-age poverty within a context-specific framework.

Incidence of Old-Age Poverty in ASEAN

• In general, older persons in the ASEAN Member States have been living marginally above the poverty line and remain vulnerable to falling into poverty.

• In countries with younger populations like the Philippines, the Lao PDR, and Cambodia, older people are less likely to become impoverished than the general population. In countries with a more mature population like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, the poverty headcount rate of older people is higher than that of the general population or even non-older people.

Poverty Profile of Older Persons in the ASEAN Member States

GENERAL

• In most ASEAN Member States, older women have a higher poverty rate than older men, and they also face more severe conditions. Women’s domestic responsibilities prevent them from having paid full-time jobs. Those who work are still expected to fulfill caregiving duties at home. Many engage in low-wage, unstable, and informal jobs. These leave women with limited social protection and financially dependent on their spouses. Hence, they become more vulnerable to poverty in their later years.
  

• More older people live in rural areas. They also typically reside with their family, particularly their adult children, showing that filial obligation is still observed. However, they usually live with family members who are also impoverished.

• Poverty is the primary factor driving older people in ASEAN to remain in the labor force. Many of them work in agriculture. Older women are typically employed in informal and unstable jobs.

Source: The Asean Magazine