The role of women’s organizations in promoting gender equality

• Main Author: Aguiling, Maria Adiel H.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: Women executives—Philippines; Sex discrimination in employment—Philippines; Gender and Sexuality
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/8684
• Institution: De La Salle University

SDG 5.5 targets women’s participation in and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making and policy-making in government and business. The Philippines ranks higher than other ASEAN countries in women leadership. However, a steady stream of women leaders is needed to ensure gender equality in private and public domains. NGOs for the integral development of women can potentially contribute to the promotion of gender equality in top leadership levels. This paper aims to describe the virtues of women NGO directors, how their virtues and the organization help the participants to develop women leader virtues. The research takes on the Aristotelian-based Virtue Ethics theory as a framework. The researcher surveyed participants of three affiliated NGOs. The responses of 204 female youth, on the perceived virtues of their leaders, were submitted to exploratory factor analysis. The results showed that the female participants perceive their leaders to possess thirty-four virtues that are summarized into 1) care, concern, and competence, and 2) superiority and ambition. These virtues inspire and motivate female students and young professionals to develop women leader virtues such as hard work, intelligence, competence, supportiveness, sympathy, trustworthiness, generosity, genuineness, social responsibility, self-confidence, achievement-oriented, ambition, aggressiveness, and superiority. The organizations educate and encourage the practice of leader virtues by providing a virtuous environment, and offering programs on leadership, virtues, and social issues. However, the NGOs can further develop women leader virtues associated with superiority and ambition which are vital to lead in competitive and sexist environments.