SDG 2030 Initiatives
SDG 5: Gender Equality
Gender equality is a fundamental human right and essential for a peaceful and sustainable world. While some progress has been made, the world is far from achieving gender equality by 2030. Women and girls, who make up half of the global population and its potential, still face pervasive inequality, which impedes social progress.
Globally, women earn an average of 23% less than men in the labor market and perform about three times more unpaid domestic and caregiving work. Challenges such as sexual violence, exploitation, discrimination in leadership roles, and unequal care responsibilities persist. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened these issues, with increased reports of sexual violence, added caregiving burdens due to school closures, and women comprising 70% of the health and social workforce.
At the current pace, it could take centuries to address some issues—300 years to end child marriage, 286 years to eliminate discriminatory laws, and 140 years for equal workplace representation in leadership. Achieving gender equality requires strong political leadership, investment, and policy reforms to remove systemic barriers. Goal 5 must be central to national policies and budgets to ensure meaningful progress.
Source: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/
Policies and Guidelines
The University Inclusive Education Policy was approved through BOR Resolution Np. 56, s. 2023. This policy ensures that students with special needs and disabilities (LSEND), as well as pregnant students, have equal access to education without discrimination. This policy provide learners with quality, inclusive, gender and culture-sensitive education which ensures that all learners are included in the curriculum, student development and welfare initiatives of the university, free from stigmatization and discrimination. For LSEND, the policy guarantees support services like counseling and disability services, and other resources that promote their well-being, as well as priority in office transactions and access to dormitory accommodations. Pregnant students are protected against academic penalties due to pregnancy-related difficulties, reasonable accommodations are provided to support their educational progress, as well as the privilege of being given the priority in office transactions. This policy also safeguards individuals who report discrimination related to educational or training leading to employment disadvantages within the university and industry sectors.
The Policy on Gender-Based Sexual Harassment and Photo and Video Voyeurism was approved through the BOR Resolution No. 53, s. 2023. This policy strengthens and localize the application of the “Safe Spaces Act” (Republic Act No. 11313), CHED’s guidelines on gender-based sexual harassment in higher education (CMO No. 3 S. 2022), Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (RA 7877), and 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service (CSC Resolution No. 01-0940). It covers all university members, including employees, students, third-party service providers, and guests. It also highlights the importance of ensuring non-discrimination for the Lesbian, Gay, and Transgender (LGBTQ) individuals in the university, with all cases promptly reported to the appropriate authority while protecting the security of those who reported the incidents. The Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI) is tasked with handling cases, headed by a woman, and membership divided equally between men and women, ensuring balanced gender representation. Acts of gender-based sexual harassment are classified into grave, less grave, and light offenses. Grave offenses include acts such as Unwanted touching, requesting for sexual favour inexchange for something, Public masturbation, Groping, Uploading/sharing without the consent of the victim, any form of media, contains photos, audio, or video with sexual content, any unauthorized recording, Impersonating identities of victims online, Filing false abuse reports to online platforms, and stalking.
This policy provides mechanisms to eliminate bias and discrimination in the university through the use of gender-neutral language, images, and content in instruction, Instructional Materials, fora, media materials, official documents, communications and issuances. This policy is pursuant to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5-Gender Equality), RA 9710 (Magna Carta of Women), CSC MC No. 12, s. 2005 (Use of Non-Sexist Language in All Official Documents, communications, and Issuances) and CMO No. 01, Series of 2015. It applies to all officials, employees, and students across the university.
The policy provides guidelines to ensure gender-neutral language in instructional and media content, promoting gender fairness, non-derogatory portrayals, balanced representation, and avoidance of stereotypes. In official communications, it advises against using gender-specific terms like “He, His, Him unless the antecedent is obviously male; eliminate the generic use of “man.” Instead, use people, person(s), human being(s), humankind, humanity, and the human race; eliminate sexism in symbolic representations of gender in words, sentences, and texts; eliminate sexual stereotyping of roles; and eliminate sexism when addressing persons formally. The policy also addresses social media etiquette, sexism in language, and stereotypes in role descriptions. Before publishing instructional and media content, materials must undergo assessment to ensure compliance.
This policy mandates that all university offices of CBSUA develop and maintain a Gender and Development (GAD) database with gender statistics and sex-disaggregated data that is analyzed from a gender perspective. The database must be designed to be systematically gathered, regularly
updated, and subjected to gender analysis for planning, programming, and policy formulation. This policy is pursuant to the requirements of Magna
Carta of Women (RA 9710), CMO No. 01, Series of 2015; and PCW-NEDA-DBM Joint Circular No. 2012-01. The policy includes a procedural flow for data collection and usage, which involves continuous data gathering, analysis, and reporting to aid in informed decision-making, as well as the recommended SDD format.
The 2023 Sex-disaggregated data of different offices and colleges is part of the compliance of the offices to the SDD policy of the university. The policy on SDD mandates all university offices of CBSUA to develop and maintain a Gender and Development (GAD) database with gender statistics and sex-disaggregated data that is analyzed from a gender perspective. The database must be designed to systematically gathered, regularly updated, and subjected to gender analysis for planning, programming, and policy formulation. This policy is pursuant to the requirements of Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710), CMO No. 01, Series of 2015; and PCW-NEDA-DBM Joint Circular No. 2012-01. The policy includes a procedural flow for data collection and usage, which involves continuous data gathering, analysis, and reporting to aid in informed decision-making.
Republic Act No. 8187 or the Paternity Leave Act of 1996, enacted on June 11, 1996, grants married male employees seven (7) days of paternity leave for the first four (4) deliveries, whether childbirth or miscarriage, of their legitimate spouse, and the implementing rules of which was issued by the CSC and the Department of Health (DOH) through Joint CSC-DOH Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 1, s. 1996;
The CBSUA Child Care facility at the Gender and Development (GAD) Resource Center is
accessible for students, which caters recent mothers to attend university courses as well as faculty
and staff by easing child care responsibilities and enabling them to have more time for studies, work
and other responsibilities. This is supported by a program called HIRAYA: GAD @ Your Service: Child
Caring Program that offers a range of educational activities for young children and serves as an
extension initiative, benefiting families and other communities beyond the university. The child caring
facility is co-facilitated by student volunteers from various colleges, organized under the DAWANI
Student Core Group.