NextGen Day

On final reading, the House of Representatives on Monday unanimously adopted a bill that would make it illegal to discriminate against female employees at work.

The chamber approved House Bill 4479, which aims to reform the Philippine Labor Code, in particular Article 135 of Presidential Decree No. 442, with 248 votes in favor.

According to the proposed legislation, favoring a male employee over a female employee in terms of job assignment, promotion, training opportunities, study possibilities, and scholarship grants simply based on their sex or traits, whether real or imagined, shall be deemed discriminatory.

A favoritism of a male employee over a female employee with regard to personnel termination or the application of any retrenchment policy of the employer simply on the basis of their sex or characteristics, whether actual or presumed, shall also be considered discriminatory.

Discrimination is also committed when a woman is denied work opportunities or other legal benefits because of her gender.

The proposed legislation also proposes to amend Article 137, as modified, to make it illegal for any company to fire a woman employee because she is pregnant, is on leave from work, or is in labor as a result of her pregnancy.

The proposed law stipulates that violators will be subject to fines ranging from PHP50,000 to PHP200,000 as well as one- to two years in prison.

The employer’s conviction or acquittal shall not prevent the female employee from bringing a civil action for the payment of wages or benefits that are due to her.

The bill’s author, Representative Charisse Hernandez of Calamba City, claimed that despite the protection provided by the Constitution and other legislation, discrimination against women in the workplace is still widespread.

Hernandez said that the Philippines placed 17th out of 156 nations in terms of closing the gender gap in terms of economic participation and possibilities, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021.

Despite the fact that “this demonstrates progress,” Hernandez stated, “we must continually improve and keep stepping up our efforts to end discrimination and abasement towards women, which still persist in the typical workplace.”

Speaker Martin Romualdez, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, and Rizal Representative Juan Fidel Felipe Nograles are among the bill’s other authors.

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