In spite of recent statistics showing that more women in Catanduanes have completed high school, college and post-graduate education, only a third of them are gainfully employed.
In its special release on the island’s women and men as far as education and employment are concerned, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that of the 100,558 total population aged 15 years old and above who are engaged in gainful work in 2020, nearly two-thirds of the employed population are males (67,154) compared to females (33,404).
Men dominate labor-intensive sectors such as Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (17,368 males vs. 1,607 females), Elementary Occupations (23,463 males vs. 7,179 females), and Crafts and Related Trades (5,565 males vs. 642 females), the report from the PSA Catanduanes Provincial Statistical Office stated.
It added that women are more represented in Service and Sales (12,571 females vs. 6,931 males) and Professional roles (3,955 females vs. 1,786 males).
Clerical Support and Technicians have a more balanced distribution, while managerial positions are nearly equal (2,303 males vs. 2,021 females).
A significant gap is observed in Plant and Machine Operation, where males account for 4,840 workers compared to 104 females. The Armed Forces also have a higher number of male workers (119 males vs. 10 females). The job status of 1,143 males and 1,195 females were not reported.
The 2020 Census on Population and Housing also indicated that women in Catanduanes have a slightly higher literacy rate compared to men.
Out of 241,448 individuals aged 5 years and over in the province, 234,315 are considered literate, achieving a literacy rate of 97.3% for females and 96.8% for males.
In the same census, most individuals reached high school (38.0%) and elementary levels (31.8%) while around 20.0% pursued college education, with females (26,340) slightly outnumbering males (21,941) in this regard.
Slightly greater numbers of females (3.588) finished short-cycle tertiary courses than males (2.966) while more females (1,429) completed post-baccalaureate courses than males (603).
As of May 1, 2020, Catanduanes recorded a total population of 271,879, of which 132,709 were female and 139,170 were male, resulting in a sex ratio of 100:105 and indicating a slightly higher number of males than females in the province.
While the voting population (18 years and older) at the time was almost equally divided between the two sexes (80,404 females vs. 82,571 males, there were more female senior citizens (26,678) than males (11,663).