Women continue to experience discrimination in the workplace with regard to pay, employment,  gender-based violence and marginalization in decision-making bodies including trade unions.    Inequality in Remuneration     Women workers in the country face a sizable pay gap in the formal employment reaching up to  13 almost 60 percent. Further, trade unions such as the PSLINK and Kilusang Mayo Uno reported  violations of minimum wage laws in garments, electronics and food manufacturing industries where  14 women workers are the majority.       The Philippines is a State Party to the ILO Convention No. 100 (equal remuneration) and No. 111  (discrimination in employment and occupation). Ironically, however, the law for a long time is silent  on enforcing equal pay for work of the same value. The enactment of the Magna Carta of Women in  2009 addressed this gap, albeit in the form of a general statement. This is found in Section 5 of the  said law where it provides that the State is the primary duty bearer in protecting women’s rights  “against discrimination and from violation of their rights by private corporations, entities, and  individuals”. More concrete legal provisions may be needed to be put in place to fulfill women’s  rights to equal pay for equal work.    Participation in Paid Work    There is a 28.6 percent gender gap in the labor force participation of women and men in the country  in 2016.     In a study of the ADB on gender equality and the labor market in 2013, the lower labor force  participation of Filipino women represents an underutilization of women’s labor due to factors of  inferior employment and decent work opportunities, human capital difference and unpaid domestic  labor and care constraints. With regard the last factor, ADB also stated that women are involved in  84 percent of child care time. Women also comprise the majority of unpaid family workers, mostly  in the agricultural sector: 15.7 percent compared to 7.5 percent for men.    This lower participation of women in the formal and paid work has implications not only on their  economic status but also on their social security and insurance. At present, social insurance is often  linked to formal employment by way of mandatory salary deductions for GSIS or SSS contributions.  Although voluntary contribution schemes are available in government facilities (aside from private  companies), there is a low rate of access to them. Based on 2008 data, there are only 6,000 voluntary  15 contributions from “non-working spouses”, which more often than not refer to women spouses.    Asian Development Bank. (2013). ​Gender Equality in the Labor Maarket in the Philippines.   Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. (2001). ​Women and Trade Unions.​ Retrieved from  http://library.fes.de/fulltext/iez/01110001.htm   15 Verceles, N. A. and Pineda Ofreneo, R. (2009) “The Social Security System: Coverage, Compliance and Accountability  Issues” Retrieved from  https://arossasia.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/24-the-social-security-system-coverage-compliance-and-accountability-iss ues/    13 14 7 RH Situationer: Phlippines (November 2017)