Women ‘enrich’ husbands in RP — reports

And they may also elect the country’s next president

MANILA, Philippines—Thanks to their wives, married Filipino men are more financially secure than most bachelors. Today, International Women's Day, is the best time to thank them for it.

But first, some news from the United States.

A recently released report of the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center shows a growing number of American men married to women whose education and income exceed their own.

From an economic perspective, the report said this trend is contributing to a “gender role reversal” in the gains from marriage. In the past, when fewer wives worked, marriage was a route to financial security for women. Nowadays, it is men who are getting the biggest economic boost from wedded bliss.

The report studied the numbers between 1970 to 2007, when median household income for married men, married women, and unmarried women increased 60%. Unmarried men, on the other hand, increased their income by only 16%.

This trend is also evident in other parts of the world, especially in the Philippines, where women celebrate their economic, political and social achievements.

Like in the US, there are more women attending college in the Philippines. The proportion is highest in graduate programs, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

The result is 20% of working women and only 10% of working men have completed college.

In Bar Exams, women have ended the reign of men as topnotchers. Women have also equaled, if not exceeded, the number of men in traditionally male-filled professions such as accounting, engineering, and medicine.

During elections, voters turnout among women surpasses the men. Since 1998, there are more registered female voters than males. These figures suggest that women will play a key role in electing the next Philippine president on May 10, 2010.

The Philippines is, in fact, among the top 10 countries in the world that have bridged the gender gap in labor force participation and wages.

It is the leader in Asia and ahead of most rich countries like the US, Germany, France, Britain and Australia, according to the 2009 Global Gender Gap Report of the Geneva-based World Economic Forum.

Based on the 2009 International Business Report of the US-based accounting and management consultants firm Grant Thornton, Filipino women held 47% of senior management positions in privately-held businesses, the largest figure worldwide.

MasterCard’s 2010 World Wide Index of Women’s Advancement also reported that the Philippines topped 14 Asia-Pacific countries in narrowing the socio-economic gap between males and females.

The trend is the same among Filipinos abroad. More than 60% of the 11 million overseas Filipino workers (OFW) are women. Many of the women face physical or mental risks abroad just to support husbands and children at home.

The Philippine economy relies heavily on the remittances of these OFWs. On average, their remittances are equivalent to 10% of the country’s gross domestic product. This figure was noted by the conservative US think-tank Heritage Foundation in its recently issued 2010 Index of Economic Freedom.

Thanks to the wives, Filipino married men are better off than their single counterparts. (Newsbreak) - Written by Frankie Llaguno, MONDAY, 08 MARCH 2010