Former Secretary of National Defense and senatorial candidate Gilbert (GIBO) Teodoro recognizes the country’s gains in empowering women but said that more work should be done to boost the productivity, income, and development among Filipinas.

Gibo Teodoro, former Tarlac representative, and 1989 bar top notcher, said the pandemic has affected the lives and livelihood of a lot of women, as many of them are employed in the informal sector which has limited social protection.

“As we conclude our celebration of National Women’s Month, we should vow to push for programs and policies that will provide equal opportunities for all genders,” Gibo Teodoro said. “We also have to continue closing the income gap between men and women.”

Citing data from the Asian Development Bank Institute, women’s wages are only 37 percent of what men get paid for a similar position, while “women make only 51 percent of what men make” in terms of wage and non-wage income.

Gibo Teodoro said one of the areas that the government can invest in women is through digital technology, by providing them capacity-building training in adopting and accessing new technologies that will strengthen women’s digital capacity for career and business opportunities.