A non-commissioned November 2025 survey conducted by Social Weather Stations revealed that Filipinos’ attitudes toward women’s roles, work, and responsibilities remain traditional despite advances in technology and perceived progress in mindsets.
The polling firm proferred six statements and asked 1,200 adults nationwide whether or not they agreed or disagreed, or were undecided about them. The general attitudes were telling, but men’s and women’s numbers, or the difference in such, also say a lot. The survey had a 1:1 female-and-male respondent ratio, and respondents were equally from urban and rural areas.
For instance, the statement “A man’s job is to earn money; a woman’s job is to look after home and family” gained 83 percent agreement and 8 percent disagreement. This yielded an “extremely strong” net agreement of +75 percent across both sexes. Male respondents had a net agreement of +77; females, +73.
“Being a housewife is just as fulfilling as working for pay” gained 81% agreement and 11% disagreement, or an “extremely strong” +71 net agreement while 7 percent were undecided. More women had a net agreement at +74 than men at +67.
Meanwhile, 75% agreed and 14% disagreed with “a job is all right, but what most women really want is a home and children,” for a net agreement of +60, with 10 percent of respondents undecided. Net agreement is the same for both sexes.
Seventy-one percent of respondents agreed with “A working mother can establish just as warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work,” while 18 percent disagreed, for a +53 net agreement. Net agreement among women was +55; among men, it was +51. Another 10 percent were undecided.
Sixty-three percent agreed, and 27% disagreed, that “a pre-school child is likely to suffer if his or her mother works, for a net agreement of +54. Among women, net agreement was at +46; for men, net agreement was +28.
On the statement that “all in all, family life suffers when the woman has a full-time job,” 51% agreed, 36% disagreed, while 12% were undecided. Net agreement among women was +25 and +4 among men.
We could find many ways to explain why the numbers are so. According to the SWS, 33% of total respondents were aged 55 and above; meanwhile, only 11% came from the youngest age group of 18-24. The age groups 25-34 and 35-44 each comprised 20% of the total number of respondents.
Three hundred respondents each from Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao were interviewed, but the weighted average for these areas differed with 45% coming from Balance Luzon, 23% from Mindanao, 19% from the Visayas, and 13% from Metro Manila. Weighted average considers the population size of each area in the computation.
The most number of respondents—30%—obtained junior high school or some vocational education, followed by elementary graduates with some JHS at 27%, and SHS and vocational to those who had some college education at 22%.
Just 11% of respondents were college graduates or higher, while only 10% had no education to some elementary schooling.
These demographics greatly shaped the survey results.
Still, people’s pervading attitudes toward women are also seen in how they view statements that denigrate, dismiss, or objectify women. We have no shortage of recent examples – just think of Representative Jesus Manuel “Bong” Suntay, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, and Senator Jinggoy Estrada. Their sick statements gained them notoriety, if they did not have it already, but their subsequent defense of their words and their supporters’ adamant refusal to condemn them speak volumes. Such mindsets make it easy to cross the line to misogyny, abuse, and continued oppression of women in ways that may not be obvious.
Sunday was International Women’s Day and this month is Women’s Month. Let us not be content with token gestures and greetings at this time of the year. We have a long way to go.
