DEPDev Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon (from left to right), DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Marc Innes-Brown and Investing in Women chief executive officer Hannah Birdsey pose for a photo during the launch of the Juana Trabaho on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) at the Westin Manila in Ortigas. Juana Trabaho is a strategic framework and action plan which aims to increase women’s participation in the workforce. (Photo from DEPDev)
The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), in partnership with the Australian government’s Investing in Women (IW) initiative, has launched a new program aimed at expanding Filipino women’s access to quality employment opportunities and strengthening their participation in the workforce.
Called “Juana Trabaho,” the initiative serves as a strategic framework and action plan designed to address long-standing barriers that have limited women’s participation in the labor market. The program seeks to translate national employment strategies into concrete actions that will support women and other vulnerable groups in accessing secure, meaningful work.
Central to the initiative is the promotion of alternative and flexible work arrangements—such as part-time, remote, and hybrid work models—which policymakers say can help more women balance employment with caregiving and household responsibilities. By encouraging businesses and institutions to adopt these practices, the program aims to widen labor market opportunities while improving job quality.
According to DEPDev, the initiative forms part of the government’s broader effort to close persistent gender gaps in employment. It will begin with the development of a strategic framework that defines what “quality jobs” for women mean in the Philippine context, recognizing that employment needs and challenges evolve across different life stages.
This framework will be followed by a participatory action-planning process involving government agencies, private sector leaders, civil society groups, and development partners. The process aims to identify specific policies, programs, and reforms that can effectively boost female labor force participation across industries.
Despite gradual progress in recent years, women in the Philippines continue to participate in the workforce at significantly lower rates than men. DEPDev noted that structural barriers—such as unpaid care work, limited access to flexible employment arrangements, and disparities in job quality—continue to restrict many women from fully engaging in the labor market.
Data from the Labor Force Survey highlight the challenge. The full-year female labor force participation rate declined slightly to 53.7 percent in 2025 from 54.7 percent in 2024.
“This reality underscores why increasing women’s labor force participation is a clear priority of the Philippine government,” DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
“Under the Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) Plan, we aim to raise female labor force participation to 59 percent by 2034. Achieving this requires not only creating quality, secure, and accessible jobs for women but also ensuring that these jobs align with emerging industry demands brought about by a modernizing economy,” he added.
The push to empower women economically also forms a key pillar of the Australia–Philippines Development Partnership Plan for 2024 to 2029.
Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Marc Innes-Brown emphasized that strengthening women’s participation in the economy is essential to sustaining the country’s long-term growth.
“Unlocking women’s full economic potential is critical for sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the Philippines,” Innes-Brown said.
“Australia is proud to work closely with the Philippine government to promote policy reforms that advance gender-inclusive workplaces, a care economy that supports women, and ensure women’s full economic participation. We welcome the combined efforts of government, business, and civil society to drive inclusive economic growth in the Philippines, powered by more quality jobs for women,” he added.
The Juana Trabaho initiative builds on earlier collaborations between DEPDev and Investing in Women, including research on gender-inclusive part-time work policies and flexible working arrangements within the Philippine private sector—studies that helped shape the program’s policy direction.