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Are Pinoy machos getting more domesticated?²

More than the amusement and laughter the young among us draw from the adventures and stories of Inday, we should be examining ourselves, whether we are doing our fair share of housework. As women have been doing most of the housework in Pinoy households since “nineteen-kopong kopong”, it is worthwhile to know whether the situation is improving or worsening; whether Dodong will be giving more of his time to help Inday in housework after their much-awaited wedding

We statisticians have a way of finding this out. Through Time-Use Surveys (TUS). Time-use surveys aim to describe activity patterns of a specific target population – simply put, it shows us how we spend our day, counting the hours we spend doing various activities, such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, or socializing. In addition, the TUS can provide information about unpaid work – what our friends from the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) have been wanting to know. The amount of unpaid work, its nature, its distribution by sex and by social and economic factors, are necessary inputs towards measuring the contribution of women to the economy. Yes, how much do women contribute to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?

This article presents the results of three time-use surveys conducted in 1979 (Miralao), 1985-1990 (Illo), and 2000 (NSO). The 1979 survey ³ estimated the average number of hours per week spent on unpaid work by single and married women and men comprising 1,395 respondents from 15 barrio-barangays of Candelaria, Zambales, two poblacion-barangays of Sta. Cruz, Zambales and in Barangay Sto. Niño, Marikina. On the other hand, Illo’s study on Women in Agriculture: The Philippine Case ⁴ covered women and men in different rural communities of Bicol (1985, 1987, and 1990) and Mindanao (1990). The relatively more recent survey ⁵ of the National Statistics Office (NSO) was conducted in Batangas and Quezon City with 663 respondents. In this light, readers should take note of the limitations of the three studies. They had limited sample sizes and covered different municipalities and provinces; therefore they are not strictly comparable.

Subject to the limitations cited, we now pose the following questions on the sharing of housework in Philippine society (Table 1): ⁶

1. Do women continue to do relatively more housework than men? – Consistent with the general belief that women are working longer hours at home than men, data from 1979 to 2000 show that indeed, women’s unpaid housework is greater than men. The 1979 study observed that single women performed unpaid work (3.043 hours) almost twice as long as their male counterparts (1.714 hours); the situation being much more disparate for married women (7.929 hours) with their unpaid work being thrice as much as their male counterparts (2.629 hours). The gap became wider in 1985-1990 as women performed unpaid work (6.575 hours) almost four times longer than men (1.875 hours). However, there was an observed improvement in 2000 when the ratio of unpaid work of women to men went below two. (But still makes us wonder whether this is one of the reasons why we have heard of Juan Tamad and never of Mariang Tamad?)

2. Are Pinoy machos getting more domesticated? – Well, looks like the prayers of most mothers and wives have been answered. From the three studies, unpaid housework of men dramatically increased in 2000! In 1979, the unpaid hours of work of single and married men were posted at 1.714 and 2.629, respectively. From 1985-1990, unpaid housework was registered at 1.875 hours, but in 2000, this jumped to 5.054 hours for the employed and 4.906 hours for the unemployed or outside the labor force!

3. Do women now get to do less housework? – With men now doing more housework, has the amount of housework of women decreased? Not quite… While men are now getting (or should we say, “enjoying”?) their fairer share of housework, the amount of time spent by women on housework continues to increase! In 1979, the unpaid hours of work of single and married women were posted at 3.043 hours and 7.929 hours, respectively. From 1985-1990, unpaid housework was registered at 6.575 hours, while in 2000 it was posted at 6.554 hours for the employed and 8.034 hours for the unemployed or outside the labor force in 2000!
   
   This then tells us that the additional hours spent by men on housework do not necessarily translate to less hours of work for women! (Is this because many of our katulongs have since left the country to work as domestic helpers elsewhere?)

4. With observed increases in housework, do women and men now spend less time for paid work? – As shown in Table 1, in terms of the actual levels or average paid hours of work per day, both women and men showed increases in paid work; women posting an increase of 3.024 hours (from 3.661 in 1985-1990 to 6.685 in 2000) while men had a lower increase of 1.824 hours (from 5.279 in 1985-1990 to 7.103 in 2000).

As earlier mentioned, TUS data are necessary inputs to the measurement of the contribution of women to the economy. And when this information is available to us, the quantification of women’s contribution to include unpaid housework is possible.

The Philippine System of National Accounts (PSNA) produces the country’s estimates of GDP and Gross National Product (GNP) ⁷ . It adopts the framework of the System of National Accounts (SNA) developed by United Nations in collaboration with four other international organizations, the latest of which is the 1993 SNA. The SNA production boundary comprises the production of institutional sectors, namely: 1) financial corporation; 2) non-financial corporation; 3) general government; 4) non-profit institutions serving households; and 5) households. Under the SNA production boundary, all market and non-market goods and services produced by the first four institutions are measured as part of GDP/GNP. However, for the household sector, only market goods and services; and non-market goods are included in the production boundary. Hence, all non-market services produced in the household ⁸ are not measured as contribution to the economy, except for domestic services provided by domestic helpers. Too bad for women as they usually produce these services in their households… But, we in the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), are relentless in our effort to be relevant to our society, and if we can have our way, this will not remain uncounted or invisible.

As early as 1998, barely three years after the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action⁹ , the NSCB, through the study made by Virola and De Perio ¹⁰ , released for the first time the satellite accounts on the contribution of women to the economy to include unpaid housework services for the period 1990-1997. This was later updated by Virola (1999) ¹¹ to cover the period 1990-1998. But efforts were not sustained as the loss of NSCB manpower and the restriction on hiring due to the rationalization plan of government have severely constrained the capacity and capability of the NSCB to address emerging concerns such as this. Not to mention the fact that the proposed national time-use survey, supposedly the first nationwide TUS to be conducted in the country, did not materialize due to lack of financial support.

This year, the NSCB received renewed calls to value women’s unpaid work, most persuasively from Prof. Solita “Mareng Winnie” C. Monsod. With her all-out push and steady advocacy to “remove the cloak of invisibility”¹² of women by integrating unpaid housework services in the nation’s economic accounts, estimates were updated by Virola, Encarnacion, Zaguirre, and Perez (2007)¹³ by using some parameters in the earlier work and the results of the 2000 TUS to produce estimates for the period 2000-2006.

Results of the Virola, Encarnacion, Zaguirre, and Perez study (2007) are as follow:

1. Unpaid work adds 66.2 percent to GDP! (Table 2) – Taking into account unpaid work provided by the employed, the unemployed and those not in the labor force, the GDP increased by 66.2 percent. Of the 66.2 percent of unpaid work, women contributed 39.5 percent while men contributed 26.7 percent

2. Women’s share to GDP increased by 8 percentage points! (Table 3) – Women’s contribution to adjusted GDP improved to 47.1 percent from 38.8 percent.

3. Women account for 59.6 percent of the total hours of unpaid work! (Table 4) – Women account for 59.6 percent of the total number of hours of unpaid work, 81.3 percent of the total hours of unpaid work of those not in the labor force, 44.7 percent of the total hours of unpaid work of the employed and 51.0 percent of the total hours of unpaid work of the unemployed.

4. Women not in the labor force account for more than half of the total value of unpaid work of women! (Table 5) – Women who are not in the labor force account for more than half or 54.3 percent of the total value of unpaid work of women from 2000-2006. Employed women contributed 40.6 percent and unemployed women contributed 5.1 percent. Because of large participation of men in the labor force the employed men contributed the biggest share of 74.2 percent of the total value of unpaid work of men. Men not in the labor force contributed 18.5 percent and unemployed men contributed 7.3 percent.

Other findings of the study:

1. Women accounted for only 27.4 percent of the total Net Factor Income from Abroad (NFIA).

2. Women contributed 46.2 percent of the adjusted Gross National Product (GNP) from 38.0 percent when unpaid work was not included.

With both women and men working longer hours, are they happier with their lives? As Statistically Speaking wrote in August and October 2007, it is not sufficient to use GDP or our Human Development Index (HDI) to measure progress of our society. Happiness should be factored in. And so, who are happier, men or women?

Based on a study of Virola and Encarnacion (2007)¹⁴ , men are slightly happier (72.09) than women (72.04)¹⁵ (Table 6). Is it because women are overworked at home? Harassed maybe? Interestingly, both women and men are happiest with their families with 88.52 percent and 87.71 percent, respectively. Both sexes are also most unhappy with politics (women 25.89; men – 21.31) and government (women – 33.75; men – 43.99). Let us then spend more time with our families and may the politicians then please get out of the way?

Table 1. Paid and Unpaid Hours of Work, Various Studies

Reference			Ave. total hours of paid work per day		Ave. total hours of unpaid work per day		Ratio of paid work to total paid and unpaid work
			Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men
Miralao	1979	Single	8.005	6.419	3.043	1.714	0.725	0.789
		Married	6.976	7.410	7.929	2.629	0.468	0.738
NEDA	1984	Employed	5.557	-	4.271	-	0.565	-
		Unemployed	-	-	-	-	-	-
		Outside the labor force	-	-	-	-	-	-
Illo	1985-1990		3.661	5.279	6.575	1.875	0.358	0.738
Combined NEDA and Illo study 16		Employed	5.557	8.013	4.271	1.218	0.565	0.868
		Unemployed	-	-	6.575	1.875	-	-
		Outside the labor force	-	-	6.575	1.875	-	-
NSO	2000	Original
		Employed	7.297	7.665	7.155	5.455	0.505	0.584
		Unemployed	-	-	8.704	5.171	-	-
		Outside the labor force	-	-	8.704	5.171	-	-
		Rescaled 17
		Employed	6.685	7.103	6.554	5.054	0.505	0.584
		Unemployed	-	-	8.034	4.906	-	-
		Outside the labor force	-	-	8.034	4.906	-	-

Sources: Measuring the Contribution of Women to the Philippine Economy (Virola and De Perio, 1998), Women’s Contribution to the Economy – the Philippine Experience (Virola, 1999), and Do Women Contribute Less Than Men to Nation Building (Virola, Encarnacion, Zaguirre, and Perez, 2007)

 

Table 2. Percentage Distribution of Value of Unpaid Hours (Housework Services) to GDP, At Current Prices

Year	% to GDP
	Women		Men		Total
	OC/MP	MP	OC/MP	MP	OC/MP	MP
2000	46.69	40.73	48.60	27.42	95.28	68.15
2001	47.45	40.90	48.48	27.73	95.93	68.63
2002	47.23	40.84	49.27	27.80	96.51	68.64
2003	44.82	38.83	47.69	26.17	92.50	65.00
2004	43.55	37.90	48.16	25.63	91.70	63.54
2005	45.29	39.19	47.84	26.63	93.13	65.83
2006	44.89	38.93	48.56	26.40	93.45	65.33
2000-2006	45.52	39.46	48.34	26.73	93.86	66.19

Source: Virola, Encarnacion, Zaguirre and Perez (2007)

Table 3. Percentage Share to GDP and Adjusted GDP by Sex, 2000-2006

Year	Conventional GDP			Adjusted GDP
	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total
2000	61.80	38.20	100.00	53.06	46.94	100.00
2001	60.42	39.58	100.00	52.27	47.73	100.00
2002	60.49	39.51	100.00	52.35	47.65	100.00
2003	61.62	38.38	100.00	53.21	46.79	100.00
2004	62.10	37.90	100.00	53.65	46.35	100.00
2005	61.12	38.88	100.00	52.92	47.08	100.00
2006	61.07	38.93	100.00	52.91	47.09	100.00
2000-2006	61.23	38.77	100.00	52.93	47.07	100.00

Source: Virola, Encarnacion, Zaguirre and Perez (2007)

Table 4. Percentage Distribution of Total Unpaid Hours of Work (Housework Services) by Sex,
Employed, Unemployed and Not in the Labor Force

	2000		2001		2002		2003		2004		2005		2006		2000-2006
	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men
Employed	44.14	55.86	45.39	54.61	45.37	54.63	44.50	55.50	43.76	56.24	44.85	55.15	44.77	55.23	44.68	55.32
Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry	10.82	25.32	11.29	24.81	11.37	24.74	11.15	24.82	10.79	25.09	11.14	24.63	10.95	24.46	11.07	24.84
Mining and Quarrying	0.02	0.33	0.03	0.29	0.03	0.28	0.02	0.27	0.03	0.25	0.06	0.27	0.04	0.34	0.03	0.29
Manufacturing	5.62	4.70	5.24	4.57	5.04	4.57	5.06	4.77	4.91	4.77	4.97	4.48	4.77	4.46	5.09	4.62
Electricity, Gas and Water	0.08	0.31	0.07	0.29	0.07	0.31	0.08	0.26	0.09	0.27	0.08	0.24	0.08	0.27	0.08	0.28
Construction	0.11	4.54	0.12	4.59	0.13	4.61	0.12	4.71	0.10	4.58	0.12	4.32	0.09	4.33	0.11	4.53
Wholesale and Retail Trade	12.57	5.16	13.27	6.23	13.52	6.22	12.61	6.39	12.75	6.57	13.12	6.84	13.06	6.77	12.99	6.31
Transportation, Communication and Storage	0.45	6.20	0.38	6.17	0.39	6.13	0.40	6.38	0.46	6.57	0.48	6.37	0.50	6.29	0.44	6.30
Financing, Insurance, Real Estate and Business Services	1.25	1.23	1.46	1.39	1.47	1.47	1.50	1.82	1.42	1.74	1.55	1.73	1.75	1.86	1.49	1.60
Government Services	13.21	8.06	7.54	4.82	7.56	4.81	7.09	4.54	7.01	4.73	6.93	4.56	6.95	4.65	8.04	5.17
Private Services	0.00	0.01	5.98	1.46	5.79	1.48	6.46	1.54	6.18	1.65	6.40	1.71	6.58	1.81	5.34	1.38
Unemployed	48.91	51.09	53.74	46.26	51.52	48.48	50.95	49.05	52.73	47.27	50.51	49.49	47.68	52.32	50.95	49.05
Not in the Labor Force	81.25	18.75	81.52	18.48	80.52	19.48	82.95	17.05	82.75	17.25	80.34	19.66	80.13	19.87	81.25	18.75
TOTAL	59.77	40.23	59.60	40.40	59.50	40.50	59.73	40.27	59.66	40.34	59.54	40.46	59.58	40.42	59.62	40.38

Source: Virola, Encarnacion, Zaguirre and Perez (2007)

Table 5. Percentage Distribution of Total Value of Unpaid Hours of Work
(Housework Services) by Sex for All (Market Price), In Million Pesos
At Current Prices

	2000		2001		2002		2003		2004		2005		2006		2000-2006
	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men
Employed	38.65	72.67	42.31	75.10	41.39	73.22	40.81	75.52	39.37	74.82	41.15	74.47	40.51	73.69	40.62	74.23
Unemployed	5.21	8.08	5.99	7.61	5.79	8.00	5.72	8.17	6.38	8.46	4.00	5.77	3.65	5.90	5.12	7.28
Not in the Labor Force	56.14	19.24	51.70	17.29	52.82	18.77	53.46	16.31	54.25	16.72	54.85	19.76	55.84	20.42	54.26	18.49
TOTAL	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00

Source: Virola, Encarnacion, Zaguirre and Perez (2007)

Table 6. Comparison of Level of Importance and Happiness Index
of 10th NCS Participants

	10th NCS Participants
	Level of Importance					Happiness Index
	Average Importance			Rank		Happiness Index			Rank
	Women	Men	Difference	Women	Men	Women	Men	Difference	Women	Men
	(a)	(b)	(c) = a-b	(d)	(e)	(f)	(g)	(h) = f-g	(i)	(j)
General assessment						75.73	63.11	12.62
Overall (based on domains)						72.04	72.09	(0.05)
Source/Domain
Family	9.50	9.72	(0.22)	1	1	88.52	87.71	0.81	1	1
Friends	8.60	8.55	0.05	4	2	83.36	84.48	(1.12)	2	2
Religion and/or spiritual work	8.67	8.31	0.36	3	5	81.33	77.25	4.08	3	4
Love life	7.97	8.48	(0.51)	9	3	80.71	75.95	4.76	4	5
Health	9.22	8.33	0.89	2	4	79.24	75.65	3.59	5	7
Education	8.36	7.69	0.67	6	8	77.74	77.46	0.27	6	3
Sex life	5.68	7.92	(2.25)	17	6	72.88	71.48	1.39	7	11
Work	8.06	7.30	0.76	8	10	70.63	74.26	(3.63)	8	9
Income and financial security	8.44	7.79	0.65	5	7	69.66	67.86	1.80	9	13
Community and volunteer work	6.44	5.46	0.98	14	15	69.25	70.69	(1.44)	10	12
Leisure and sports	6.87	7.26	(0.39)	13	11	69.21	74.49	(5.28)	11	8
Technological know-how	7.06	7.15	(0.09)	11	12	67.11	75.94	(8.83)	12	6
Cultural activities	5.77	6.33	(0.56)	16	14	65.50	71.75	(6.25)	13	10
Environment	8.24	6.62	1.62	7	13	54.58	47.48	7.09	14	15
Economy	7.92	7.44	0.48	10	9	50.85	48.95	1.90	15	14
Government	6.90	5.27	1.63	12	16	33.75	43.99	(10.24)	16	16
Politics	6.23	4.36	1.87	15	17	25.89	21.31	4.58	17	17

Source: Virola and Encarnacion (2007)

 

Reactions and views are welcome thru email to the authors at ra.virola@nscb.gov.ph and jo.encarnacion@nscb.gov.ph

 

______________________

¹ Secretary General of the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) and Chairman of the Statistical Research and Training Center (SRTC). He holds a Ph. D. in Statistics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA and has taught mathematics and statistics at the University of the Philippines. He is also a past president of the Philippine Statistical Association.

² This article was co-written with Jessamyn O. Encarnacion (jo.encarnacion@nscb.gov.ph), Officer-in-Charge, Poverty, Labor, Human Development, and Gender Statistics Division. The authors thank Armyl G. Zaguirre, Raymond S. Perez, Candido J. Astrologo, Jr. and Noel S. Nepomuceno for their assistance in the preparation of this article.

³ In partnership with the Institute of Philippine Culture, Ateneo de Manila University (IPC, Ateneo).

⁴ Published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

⁵ With funding assistance from the Canadian International Development Agency through their Institutional Strengthening Project Phase II (CIDA-ISP II).

⁶ All data pertaining to the 2000 TUS were: 1) rescaled to add up to 24 hours (1 day); and 2) weighted using urban (for Quezon City) and rural (for Batangas) population as weights.

⁷ Per System of Designated Statistics (SDS), under Executive Order 352 signed by President Fidel V. Ramos on 1 July 1996, the NSCB is officially mandated to compile the PSNA on a quarterly basis with a time lag of 2 months for the first three quarters and 1 month for the fourth quarter.

⁸ The uncounted activities include the following: 1) cleaning, decoration and maintenance of the dwelling unit; 2) cleaning, servicing and repair of household durable goods, including vehicles; 3) preparation and serving of meals; 4) care, training, and instruction of children; 5) care of sick, infirm or old; and 6) transportation of members of the household or their goods.

⁹ An agenda for women’s empowerment aimed at removing all the obstacles to women's active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making.

¹⁰ Virola, Romulo A. and De Perio, Sylvia M. Measuring the Contribution of Women to the Philippine Economy. 7th National Convention on Statistics, EDSA Shangri-la Hotel, Ortigas Center. 2-4 October 1998.

¹¹ Virola, Romulo A. Women’s Contribution to the Economy – the Philippine Experience. 52nd Session of the International Statistical Institute, Contributed Papers. 1999.

¹² Monsod, Solita C. Removing the Cloak of Invisibility: Integrating Unpaid Household Services in the Nation’s Economic Accounts. 10th National Convention on Statistics, EDSA Shangri-la Hotel. 1-2 October 2007.

¹³ Presented in the 10th National Convention on Statistics, EDSA Shangri-la Hotel, Ortigas Center, 1-2 October 2007.

¹⁴ Measuring Progress of Philippine Society: Gross National Product or Gross National Happiness?

¹⁵ Based on a single question, women are happier (75.73) than men (63.11).

¹⁶ Based on the computations made by the authors.

¹⁷ Details of the “original” were: 1) rescaled to add up to 24 hours (1 day); and 2) weighted using urban (for Quezon City) and rural (for Batangas) population as weights.

 

Posted 12 November 2007.

 

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