86 Gender Matters the literature on the impact of call centers on women. A female employee interviewed by Aldea et al. provides an insight as to the effect of her BPO work on her domestic obligations. She pointed out that she cannot be with her family even during special occasions, and it’s very hard to get a leave when there is a family problem, or even when she is sick. Admittedly, men and women alike would be inclined to attend special occasions, or suffer the same anxiety during family emergencies, but women are traditionally considered to be the one responsible when a child gets sick, for instance, because of her caring or nurturing “nature.” It is the woman who prepares costumes for school plays, organizes birthday parties, sets up decorations for Christmas and other occasions, cooks or prepares the menu, sets up party venues, wraps the gifts, puts everything in order after the events. It is important to ask whether, by working in a call center, with unpredictable shifts and schedules, she is also released from these “obligations,” or she is expected to juggle it all. Does her job entail, or result in, renegotiation of gender roles and division of labor within the household? The same employee interviewed by Aldea et al. also mentions that one of the justifications given by the employers in demanding that they work during holidays, for instance, is the relatively high salary given to call center agents. This is another issue that needs to be scrutinized. Admittedly, the average pay for BPO employees is significantly higher than the equivalent monthly minimum wage (Amante 2008). This is still considerably lower than the salaries of their counterparts in other countries. Sibal (2010), for instance, stated that compared with 10 other countries (India, Malaysia, China, Brazil, Mexico, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia), the Philippines has the second lowest hourly wage for professionals at 13 percent of the U.S. level. The Indians have the lowest salaries at 12 percent while wages in Malaysia were two times that of the Philippines. This was a 2005 data. Compared to India, the wages in the Philippines have not increased that much (Philippine Daily Inquirer 2010). Amante (2008) pointed out that “there is a significant differential in average wages between men and women, with men