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The Second Shift: The Struggle of Filipina Working Mothers from Low-Income Families
and How E-Commerce and Work-From-Home Opportunities in the Philippines Can Aid
DELAVIN, CHEENIE LEI G.
Keywords: Women Empowerment, wage gap, e-commerce, economic equality, work-from-home,
low-income
Within just one year, the Philippines fell from 16th to 25th in the 2024 Global
Gender Gap Index, hugely dominated by Western regions. This decline revealed an
underlying issue: a drop in economic equality, particularly in the aspect of wage equality
as stated by the World Economic Forum (Global Gender Gap Report 2024, 2024). As a
country with a leading status of advancement in gender equality in Asia, this is a massive
setback for the Philippines as it illuminates not only the struggles of working Filipina
women but also exposes the economic issues of the country. A growing number of
working mothers from low-income families work taxing full-time jobs while balancing
parental/marital responsibilities in their households. In order to empower women and
strengthen the Philippines’ economy, there is an immediate need to invest in our
country’s e-commerce industry by utilizing the workforce of stay-at-home mothers.
The World Economic Forum reported that the Philippines has fostered inclusivity
across all genders in the Education index, and it is no surprise considering girls even
outperform boys in the majority of our country’s education index (Yap & Melchor,
2015). But what happens after the students graduate and set out to find a job? According
to Buchhave and Belghith (2024), in low-skill jobs, where the majority of women from
low-income families are working, men still earn 50% more than women. The disparity
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does not get lighter when these women become mothers. According to Oxfam (2022),
because of the persistent gender norms, men are still hailed as the breadwinners, and
women are still in charge of caring for the children and housework. According to the UN
Women Data Hub (2022), respondents believe equal pay for equal work is essential for a
country's future success. But 70% believe a man's job is to earn money and wives stay
home, while 64% believe men should be the primary providers. The truth is that women
are still stifled by societal norms in the Philippines, which is why they are reduced to
being stay-at-home mothers.
Additionally, for low-income families, women are either expected to be hands-on
mothers or suffer working in their full-time jobs and juggling parental responsibilities at
home. In a focused group discussion conducted by the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA, 2019), one housewife participant who worked for a
company shared that her husband made her pick between her children and her job. She
picked being a stay-at-home mother and resigned, but when her children grew up she
regretted her decision. Their budget became insufficient for their growing needs, and the
mother bitterly imagines a better financial situation for her family if she never resigned.
The experiences of these women reflected the poor state of our country’s economy and
the missed opportunity of not utilizing these women's talents as an economic potential
and as a way of helping them rise from poverty.
Addressing the problem of the Philippines’ economic inequality needs a solution
that focuses on mothers and views them as an economic potential. For example, the onset
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of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 created significant growth in work-from-home and
e-commerce. Market sales in the Philippines even reached $17 billion in 2021 and are
estimated to reach $24 billion by the end of 2025 (International Trade Administration,
2024). During and after the pandemic, many women flourished in digital work and
entrepreneurship, resulting in 35% of employed women working from home in contrast
to 19% of men (Buchhave & Belghith, 2024). This is why the Philippine government
needs to invest in this progressively growing market for our economy and empower our
women to start working or operate small businesses virtually. The best way to start
encouraging e-commerce is by enhancing work-from-home opportunities and opening
programs in Enhanced Digital Skills Training. Programs that can develop comprehensive
digital literacy seminars tailored for stay-at-home mothers, focusing on skills required for
freelancing and e-commerce, such as Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Management.
The Philippine government can form partnerships with NGOs and Private Sectors to
facilitate workshops and training sessions at local community centers to reach a wider
demographic of stay-at-home mothers.
The Philippine government should also collaborate with companies and
government agencies to create policies that support work-from-home. Sectors like
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and IT, could also offer subsidized data plans for
low-income families (Martin & Martin, 2023). Of course, whether it is e-commerce or
companies that support work from home, there is a need for internet access. This can be
resolved if the government establishes additional cell towers to enhance mobile and
broadband internet speed (Aboitiz InfraCapital, 2024).
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Enhancing work-from-home opportunities and e-commerce allows mothers to
provide for their families while still having the time to care for their children in the
comfort of their homes, which in turn addresses the Philippines’ problems in economic
inequality. The International Finance Corporation (2021) stated that Southeast Asia's ecommerce market could grow by more than $280 billion in the next six years; this growth
is increasing and will surely boost the Philippine economy if our country invests in
women entrepreneurs in these online platforms. Meanwhile, companies that support
work-from-home like the BPO industry in the Philippines are one of the fastest-growing
business sectors worldwide, estimated to dominate a significant share of the global BPO
market, ranging between 10-15% (Remotify PH, 2023). One of the very few
organizations that actively support work-from-home is the Filipina Home-Based Moms
(FHMOMS) Incorporation, which provides their members online training on digital
literacy for e-commerce and partners with businesses interested in hiring work-fromhome mothers, enhancing employment opportunities for them. As of now, this
organization has grown and helped over 145,000 mothers and has been recognized
globally (FHMOMS Philippines, 2024). This proves that investing in and encouraging
work-from-home can help mothers and the Philippine economy rise from poverty and
promote economic equality.
In conclusion, there is an urgent need to address economic inequality in the
Philippines. The country’s gender norms confine women in their homes to take care of
the household and children, and in turn, the Philippines fails to benefit from the economic
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potential of these mothers who can work from home or participate in e-commerce. There
is a massive need for government programs, businesses, and institutions to utilize the
talents of work-from-home mothers and invest in the e-commerce industry in order to
solve the economic problems of the Philippines. Women have the immense capability to
contribute to a more prosperous Philippines while still having the time to spend and
nurture their children—the younger generation that will learn to look at their mothers
with admiration and respect that they deserve.
References:
Aboitiz InfraCapital (2024, April 16). Connecting every Filipino: How common towers
will transform the Philippine countryside. Aboitiz InfraCapital.
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Buchhave, H., & Belghith, N. B. H. (2024, March 16). Overcoming barriers to women’s
work in the Philippines. World Bank Blogs.
https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/eastasiapacific/overcoming-barriers-womens-workphilippines
Emily, A. C., & Rebecca S. G., (2019, August). Determinants of female labor force
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FHMOMS Philippines. (2024, February 21). About FHMOMS - FHMOMS, Inc.
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