PH improves to 20th in the world in closing gender gap

PH improves to 20th in the world in closing gender gap – report

June 19, 2025 , 05:33 PM

(June 19, 2025) – The Philippines has moved up to 20th place out of 148 economies in a global index, regaining its spot among the world’s top 20 countries for gender equality.

In the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2025 Global Gender Gap Report released this month, the Philippines earned an overall gender parity score of 78.1%, slightly higher than last year’s 77.9%.

This put the country well above the global average of 68.8% and the East Asia and Pacific average of 69.4%. The Philippines also remains third in East Asia and the Pacific, behind New Zealand (5th) and Australia (13th).

“In this edition, each of the top 10 ranked economies have closed at least 80% of their gender gaps, the only economies to do so. European economies dominate the top 10, occupying eight of the spots,” read the report.

Among Southeast Asian nations, the Philippines led the region. It was followed by Singapore (47th), Thailand (66th), Vietnam (74th), Timor-Leste (86th), Laos (96th), Indonesia (97th), Cambodia (106th), Brunei (107th), and Malaysia (108th). Myanmar was not included in the study.

Despite the strong showing, the report pointed out areas where the country is slipping. For the first time in several years, the Philippines saw a slight decline in educational parity. Boys’ net enrollment in primary school edged out that of girls, pulling the country’s education score down by 1.2 percentage points from last year’s perfect parity.

There are also continuing concerns in health and survival. The female-to-male sex ratio at birth has declined from 0.944 in 2016 to 0.926 in 2025, the report noted.

On political empowerment, the picture is mixed. The Philippines, known for its history of female leaders, has seen a drop in the share of women in ministerial roles in the government. Women now hold 21.1% of these positions, down from over 30% in 2006–2007 and 2023. In parliament — referring to Congress — women hold 38.9% of the seats.

The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) welcomed the news but noted the need for continued effort.

“While we celebrate this milestone, we must also confront the persistent gaps that hinder full gender parity. The numbers call us to action — to innovate, invest, and lead with gender responsiveness at every level of governance and development,” said Valdeavilla in a statement.

The WEF said no country has yet achieved full gender parity. It warned that at the current pace, achieving full gender parity could still take 123 years.

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