Advancing Women’s Leadership in the Philippine Health Sector: A Policy Review

Globally, women make up 70% of health and social care workers. Despite overwhelming evidence that women in leadership enhance health outcomes, they continue to be underrepresented in health leadership positions. In the Philippines, only four out of the 29
secretaries of health have been women. To close the leadership gap, systemic barriers to women’s advancement must be addressed. A policy review was undertaken to understand the state of policy support for women’s leadership in the Philippine health sector. Policy documents were searched and retrieved from the Department of Health health policies and laws database and other relevant local government agencies. The World Health Organization framework for change to support women’s leadership in the health and social care sector was used for data analysis. Local policies that enable women to engage equally with men and reach their full potential at work have been identified. However, there is a noticeable lack
of policies that address social norms and gender stereotypes, as well as workplace systems and culture that are designed for men. This study reveals that the Philippines has made significant progress in promoting gender equality, but addressing remaining policy gaps is needed to truly enable women to ascend into leadership positions in the health and care sector.