The Workforce of the Community Health Programs in the Partido District, Camarines Sur, Philippines: Through a Gender Lens

Community Health Workers (CHW) assume vital roles in their communities. However, women health workers are concentrated into lower status, lower paid and often unpaid roles, facing harsh realities of gender bias and harassment. The study analysed the plight of Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) through a gender lens using the conceptual tool of Pierik which asserted that one of the two main uses of the concept of ‘patriarchy’ is to describe a system of structural male domination over women. It investigated if and how this was manifested in the structures and operations of the Community Health Programs (CHP). It utilized survey research design, key informant interview and written document analysis. The system as claimed by Pierik was evident across the social, economic and political spheres of the BHWs’ life. All respondents happened to be women. Majority were married, middle-aged, with low education, had no other jobs before becoming a BHW, and belonged to a poor household. These may be consequences of gender inequality where women missed the opportunities of education, employment and intended benefits of the law. Gender bias was reflected on the lack of women’s representation in the local executive and legislative units which made decisions on the Community Health Programs (CHPs). This study traced that the situation of the BHWs is systemic, shaped by a patriarchal culture embedded in the structures and operations of the CHP. In order for the program to be supportive of its workforce, it should promote gender equality and counteract gender bias, gender stereotyping, and undervaluing of women’s work.