CEDAW/C/PHI/5-6 On the adoption of a policy creating safe and protected jobs for women “The Committee expressed its grave concern about the economic reforms which have resulted in positive growth in the gross national product (GNP), on the one hand and the increasing gap in the rates of employment of women and men and the economic marginalization of women on the other. Such damages, even if short-term, will be increasingly hard to rectify. It appears that, for lack of economic livelihood, rural women migrate to urban areas where unemployment is higher than ever, and this might account for the large numbers of sex workers in illegal prostitution and for the high proportion of women migrating as overseas workers. (Paragraph 18, CEDAW 1997) “The Committee urged the Government of the Philippines to adopt a top-priority policy of creating safe and protected jobs for women and their participation as subcontractors and in informal sector, as workers in free trade zones or as in commercial sex, as migrant overseas contract workers.” (Paragraph 23, CEDAW 1997) “The Committee suggested that the Government re-examine its economic policy in the light of alarming indicators that economic growth was occurring while women were being widely marginalized and exploited, on the one hand, and encouraged to leave their homes and families for overseas employment, on the other hand.” (Paragraph 24, CEDAW 1997) 6. It is the policy of the State for women to participate in and benefit from development on an equal basis with men. Drawn from the gender equality provision of the Philippine Constitution of 1987, this policy is echoed in such laws as Republic Act (RA) No. 7192, or the Women in Development and Nation Building Act of 1992. The principle of economic growth with social equity, which underpinned the economic policies of the administrations under review, provided a policy environment supportive of the pursuit of the rights and needs of men and women living in rural areas and working in the informal sector, as well as those in homework and in overseas employment. The fulfillment of women’s right to employment, including occupational health and personal safety at work, has been an ongoing concern of the Philippine government. The protection of the livelihood and minimum basic needs of the poor is another overriding concern. 7. As noted under Article 8, as chair of APEC in 1996, the Philippines, in partnership with Canada, hosted the first meeting of the APEC Women Leaders’ Network, which led to an APEC Leaders’ commitment to “the full participation of women and youth” in APEC programs, processes and activities. Subsequent Leaders’ Meetings built on this initial commitment and today, the gender perspective is firmly established as a crosscutting theme in APEC. The Philippines played key roles in this process. It hosted the first APEC Ministerial Meeting on Women in 1999 to discuss the potential negative impact of trade liberalization and economic deregulation on women and other vulnerable sectors. In partnership with New Zealand, the Philippines prepared the background paper on the impact of trade liberalization policies on women for the Second APEC Ministerial Meeting on Women held in September 2002 in Guadalajara, Mexico (APEC 2002). The paper highlighted the negative impact of trade 15