Past, Present, and Future: Media mark Women’s Month

THE COVID-19 pandemic, the May elections, and the conflict in Ukraine and its economic after-shocks could have made it difficult for media to highlight women’s issues during Women’s Month, but they proved equal to the task.

CMFR cheers the abundant flow of news accounts, in-depth reports, interviews, and features reviewing the situation of women and their place in society. 

In a March 8 report on Filipino women, Inquirer.net hailed “game-changing” women  who belie prevalent stereotypes.  Among them were the five scientists recognized by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) for their contributions to Nuclear Science. The report also recalled the heroism of women healthcare workers in the fight against COVID-19.

The Inquirer also reported on March 11 that in developing countries like the Philippines, the high levels of female participation in the labor force are continuing. However, the COVID-19 pandemic hit women in the workforce harder than males. A study cited by the report attributes this to women’s over-representation in industries most affected by the pandemic, such as the service industry, retail, tourism, and hospitality. Women who work outside the home also do housework and child-rearing. 

GMA News and Public Affairs Digital’s “#PinaysCanSTEM” series zeroed in on Filipino women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). In two episodes posted on the 22nd and 29th of March respectively, the online news arm of the broadcast giant interviewed award-winning Quantum Physicist Dr. Jacquiline Romero and Philippine Genome Center Executive Director and Molecular biologist Dr. Cynthia Saloma. 

Romero described Physics as a male-dominated field and lamented the “unconscious bias” of society that has limited what women scientists can do. Her expertise could help counter this bias. Saloma, one of the four “founding mothers” of the Philippine Genome Center (PGC), said that the pandemic raised public awareness about molecular biology because it played a vital role in the detection of SARS-Cov-2 and the development of COVID-19 vaccines. Clearly, the women scientists in the PGC played a crucial role in the country’s pandemic response.  

CNN Philippines’ short documentary series “The Story of the Filipino” dedicated a special episode on March 25 to Nurse Che Ibrahim and Social Entrepreneur Isabela Blancas, applauding them for going above and beyond the call of duty in serving their communities in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ibrahim is a nurse at the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center who specializes in training fellow health workers on life-saving infection prevention and control measures in response to the pandemic. Blancas founded the Butuan City-based social enterprise One Closet, which promotes circular fashion and sustainability by renting out donated designer gowns and putting half of the profits towards the care and education of youth abuse survivors in Agusan del Norte. 

 On ANC, “Dateline Philippines” anchored by Karmina Constantino featured “Remarkable Women”. In the two episodes, Constantino interviewed TikTok content creator Mona Magno-Veluz, and Filipino meteorologist and climatologist Lourdes Tibig. 

In the 13-minute March 24 episode, Magno-Veluz, known on TikTok as “Mighty Magulang”, shared her passion for Philippine history and genealogy, which drives her to create meaningful and socially-relevant content in a platform better known for information. Magno-Veluz’ tales are drawn from Philippine history, but she has chosen to tell stories about women who are not as well-known as makers of history. She is followed by hundreds of thousands of avid watchers. 

The second episode on March 28, which ran for 18 minutes, featured a scientist who overcame gender bias and lack of opportunities for scientific training in the country to become a policy advocate for action on climate change. She was one of two Filipinos selected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to write a chapter in a guiding document for governments to understand and address climate concerns. Tibig talks to policy makers to convince them of the need for prompt, coordinated action that can mitigate climate disasters. 

Looking back

To illustrate that women have always been changemakers, CNN looked to the past in a March 24 report lauding five Filipino women who played key roles in shaping Philippine history. The article featured beauty queen and activist Maita Gomez, one of the founders of the women’s rights group GABRIELA; Fe del Mundo, the medical doctor who founded the country’s first pediatric hospital; Carmen “Nanay Mameng” Deunida the “Mother of the Urban Poor Struggle”; and Doreen Fernandez, the food writer and cultural historian turned Martial Law era activist. 

Alternative news website Bulatlat amplified the call for justice of Filipino comfort women, 30 long years after whistleblower Rosa Henson came forward to tell the story of how she and over a thousand Filipino women, endured sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during the  Japanese occupation (1942 – 1945). 

The article picked up on statements in a March 23 press conference at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) when Lila Pilipina, an organization of “World War II comfort women” called on the next administration to heed their demands for justice, specifically for official recognition as victims of war in history texts taught in schools, and the adoption of a policy to compel the Japanese government to acknowledge and compensate them for the injustice they suffered. 

The way forward

Media also highlighted the role of women in government and in the upcoming elections. As part of News5’s election coverage, “Bilang Pilipino 2022”, the channel released a series of brief explainers by political science professor Jean Encinas-Franco on women and elections. The three-part series posted on March 28 covered the  low political participation of women, the importance of women being represented in elections, and the effect of “fake news” and sexist remarks on women candidates. 

Regional alternative news website MindaNews zoomed in on the percentage of women candidates in Mindanao for the May 2022 elections. In a March 12 report based on data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), MindaNews revealed that women make up only 20 per cent of those running for elective posts in the country’s southern regions. Of the 83 candidates for the national post of president, vice-president, and senator, only 12 hail from Mindanao, of whom only four are women. 

Rappler focused on three issues that feminists have long championed without success: divorce, abortion, and same sex marriage. In a piece on March 23, Michelle Abad included case studies on the need to protect women with legislation that allows divorce as well as legal abortion. Interestingly, the lengthy article contrasted the conservative position of Leni Robredo with the progressive views of her fellow candidate for President Leody de Guzman. 

In the 5th installment of the weekly “Campaign Convos” podcast featuring Rappler’s field reporters covering the elections, host Pia Ranada and reporters Mara Cepeda, and Bea Cupin discussed at length their assessment of voters’ perceptions of Robredo and Sara Duterte, and how differently the two employ gender and womanhood issues in their campaign for the country’s top posts.

In the March 4 episode of Altermidya’s ALAB Analysis series “Boto ng Babae”, veteran journalist Inday Espina-Varona interviewed women voters on the issues that matter to them. The episode featured social development worker Zena Bernardo and actor Hershey Neri as well as “masa on the street” interviews.

Conclusion

Women’s month is an opportunity for the media to report on the issues that beset women in many countries. The Philippine record is far from exceptional, despite the progress women have achieved. 

The World Economic Forum’s “Global Gender Gap Report 2021” recorded the drop by one point in the Philippine gender gap in 2021 from 16th to 17th rank among 156 surveyed countries. Philippine society is still plagued by paternalism, machismo and misogyny, and the influence of the Catholic hierarchy and religious teachings on policy makers. The media must keep discussion alive whatever the month.