From Challenges to Dividends: A New and Healthy Discourse on Gender, Employment, Population and Development

Gender and Development Forum

Event Title:
From Challenges to Dividends: A New and Healthy Discourse on Gender, Employment, Population and Development

Venue:
The Bayleaf Hotel, Intramuros, Manila

Date and Time:
18 November 2013, 1:00 – 4:30p.m.

Purpose:
To utilize this policy forum as an avenue where employment policymakers, population experts, gender specialists, and labor and business leaders can engage in fruitful dialogues and exchange new ideas and perspectives on tapping the Philippines’ human capital and resources for generating employment, attracting investments, and creating a business-friendly environment

Background:
In the first ever Human Capital Index released last October 2, 2013 by the Davos-based World Economic Forum (WEF), the Philippines ranked 66th out of 122 countries that were surveyed and rated around the world. The Human Capital Index aims to measure the ability of countries to enhance and invest in their working population through education, health, employment generation and the creation of a business-friendly environment. Accordingly, the Human Capital Index seeks to emphasize the importance of human capital as imperative for growth and prosperity and also serves as a tool to guide government and business around the world to plan for a better, healthier and more competitive global workforce.

In the said global survey, the Philippines ranked high in terms of workforce and employment, but scored low in the areas of education, health and business environment. In comparison to its neighbors in Southeast Asia, the Philippines placed 5th out of the 8 ASEAN nations, trailing behind Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia while ranking well ahead of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

The Philippines’ relatively modest performance in the Human Capital Index indicates two things. First, it affirms the potential of its huge pool and resources of human capital as indicated by its robust population. Second, it also confirms the challenges and barriers that must be overcome by the country to capitalize on its demographic capital to sustain its current economic momentum. As various reports and studies indicate from institutions like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and CLSA Asia Pacific, among others, the Philippines is about to reach its demographic sweet spot in the period 2015-2020.

At the heart of this continuing economic momentum of the Philippines and its growing labor force is the often overlooked by crucial phenomenon of increasing women’s economic participation in the recent years. In the case of the Philippines, not only has it seen an increase in the number of women in the labor force (15.8 million, as of April 2013), it has also experienced an almost-balanced gender make-up of its total population, with women comprising 49 percent, as of the latest Census Survey of 2010.

Objectives:

The objectives of the forum are the following:
1) To ascertain how the Philippines can seize its current economic momentum and reap its demographic dividends for the purpose of accelerating inclusive growth across all sectors and quarters of society;
2) To determine the role of women in bringing about positive outcomes of demographic dividends; and
3) To utilize this policy forum as an avenue where employment policymakers, population experts, gender specialists, and labor and business leaders can engage in fruitful dialogues and exchange new ideas and perspectives on tapping the Philippines’ human capital and resources for generating employment, attracting investments and creating a business-friendly environment.

Output:
Development event proceedings
Policy brief on Gender, Population, Employment and Development

Participants:
Key stakeholders from DOLE and other concerned national agencies, population experts, gender specialists, labor and business leaders,

Partners:
None

Contact Information:
For more information on this event please contact the Advocacy and Publications Division, event secretariat at 5273490.