Shaping Political Identity through Gender-Based Principle: A Comparative Review of Women Participation in State Politics Between the Philippines and Vietnam
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48017/dj.v10iSpecial_3.3758Keywords:
ASEAN, Gender and Developm, Political Identity, PRISMA, SDG 5Abstract
This study examines how gender-based principles and norms contribute to women's political identity and participation in the Philippines and Vietnam with contrasting rankings in the 2024 Global Gender Gap Report despite their geographical proximity. The study used a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with five purposively selected participants and systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis of interview transcripts and content analysis of relevant sources and policy documents from 2018-2024. Findings revealed that there is a disparity between the two nations' recognition of gender-based principles. While Vietnam shows limited public awareness of women's political engagement despite meeting the United Nation's 30% benchmark for women in parliament, the Philippines exhibits more informed discourse on women's political participation despite falling short of global standards. Findings suggest that legal frameworks alone are insufficient for advancing women's political participation. To have meaningful progress, it requires a multi-dimensional strategy that simultaneously addresses cultural norms, strengthens enforcement mechanisms, and dismantles entrenched gender stereotypes.
Metrics
References
Ammar, M. (2020, July 2). The women, peace and security agenda in ASEAN: Progress, gaps and way forward. In WIIS Policy Brief: 1325 and Beyond. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350104169_The_Women_Peace_and_Security_Agenda_in_ASEAN_Progress_Gaps_and_Way_Forward
ASEAN. (2022). ASEAN Regional Study on Women, Peace and Security. Association of Southeast Asian Nations; Association of Southeast Asian Nations. https://wps.asean.org/resources/asean-regional-study-on-women-peace-and-security/
BMJ. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: an Updated Guideline for Reporting Systematic Reviews. British Medical Journal, 372(71). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Chi, C. (2023). Nearly all Filipinos biased against women due to “culture of misogyny”— Gabriela. In Inquirer.net. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/06/14/2273846/nearly-all-filipinos-biased-against-women-due-culture-misogyny-gabriela
Choi, N. (2018). Women’s political pathways in Southeast Asia. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 21(2), 224–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2018.1523683
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. https://spada.uns.ac.id/pluginfile.php/510378/mod_resource/content/1/creswell.pdf
Davies, S. E., Nackers, K., & Teitt, S. (2014). Women, Peace and Security as an ASEAN priority. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 68(3), 333–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2014.902030
Encinas-Franco, J. (2021). Sexism in the 2022 Philippine Elections: A Problem with No Name. FULCRUM. https://fulcrum.sg/sexism-in-the-2022-philippine-elections-a-problem-with-no-name/
Encinas-Franco, J., & Laguna, E. (2023). Barriers to Filipino Women’s Political Participation [Discussion Paper]. In the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (Issues 01-01). https://cids.up.edu.ph/download/barriers-filipino-womens-political-participation/
Hien, V. T., & Tuan, N. M. (2022). Gender Equality: Policy and the Problems Raised in Vietnam Today. Global Academic Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(4), 157–161. https://doi.org/10.36348/gajhss.2022.v04i04.004
Hương Trần, & Thuc Thi Le. (2020). Vietnamese Political Elites and their Point of View on Equal Gender Political Roles. Utopía Y Praxis Latinoamericana: Revista Internacional de Filosofía Iberoamericana Y Teoría Social, 25(10), 410–418. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4155721
Ida, R. (2000). World conference on science: Science for the twenty-first century; a new commitment: Scientific power, economic power and political power. In Unesco.org (p. p. 215-217). UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000120913
Labonne, J., Parsa, S., & Querubin, P. (2021). Political dynasties, term limits and female political representation: Evidence from the Philippines. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 182, 212–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2020.12.001
Lavrakas, P. J. (2011). Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods - SAGE Research Methods. Sagepub.com. https://methods.sagepub.com/reference/encyclopedia-of-survey-research-methods
Marcelino , A. (2023). Women’s political representation in PH still inadequate, says forum speakers. INQUIRER.net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1847156/fwd-why-womens-political-representation-deficiency-persists-in-ph
Munro, J. (2013). Women representation in leadership in Viet Nam. https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/migration/vn/31204_Women_s_Representation_in_Leadership_in_Viet_Nam.pdf
Oxfam in Vietnam. (2016). Gender stereotypes against female leaders in the vietnamese media | oxfam in vietnam. https://cng-cdn.oxfam.org/vietnam.oxfam.org/s3fs-public/file_attachments/Brochure%20EN.pdf
Parpart, J. L., Connelly, P., & Barriteau, V. E. (2000). Theoretical perspectives on gender and development. International Development Research Centre.
Patel, P., Meagher, K., El Achi, N., Ekzayez, A., Sullivan, R., & Bowsher, G. (2020). “Having more women humanitarian leaders will help transform the humanitarian system”: challenges and opportunities for women leaders in conflict and humanitarian health. Conflict and Health, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-020-00330-9
Philippine Commission on Women. (2020). Enacting a Women’ s Political Participation and Representation Law | Philippine Commission on Women. https://pcw.gov.ph/enacting-a-womens political-participation-and-representation-law/
Philippine Commission on Women. (2024). Progress report on the philippines’ implementation of the beijing declaration and platform for action from 2019 to 2024 contents. https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-09/b30_report_philippines_en.pdf
Mashuri, S., Sarib, M., Rasak, A., Alhabsyi, F., & Ruslin, R. (2022). Semi-structured interview: A methodological reflection on the development of a qualitative research instrument in educational studies ruslin. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 12(1), 22–29. https://doi.org/10.9790/7388-1201052229
Sinpeng, A., & Savirani, A. (2022). Women’ s political leadership in the ASEAN region. Westminster Foundation for Democracy. https://www.wfd.org/what-we-do/resources/womens political-leadership-asean-region
Shinbrot, X. A., Wilkins, K., Gretzel, U., & Bowser, G. (2019). Unlocking women’s sustainability leadership potential: Perceptions of contributions and challenges for women in sustainable development. World Development, 119, 120–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.03.009
Subrat Sarangi, Singh, R., & Barun Kumar Thakur. (2023). Interrelationship between share of women in parliament and gender and development: A critical analysis. Administrative Sciences, 13(4), 106–106. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13040106
United Nations Women. (2021). Country Gender Equality Profile. https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Field%20Office%20ESEAsia/Docs/Publications/2021/10/vn-CGEP_Full.pdf
Vietnam Law and Legal Forum. (2024). Vietnam maintains momentum on advancing gender equality: UN women representative. Vietnamlawmagazine.vn. https://vietnamlawmagazine.vn/vietnam-maintains-momentum-on-advancing-gender-equality-un-women-representative-71637.html
Vietnam+ VietnamPlus. (2025, March 8). PM hails women’s contributions to society, national development. Vietnam+ (VietnamPlus). https://en.vietnamplus.vn/pm-hails-womens-contributions-to-society-national-development-post311199.vnp
Vu, H. T., Lee, T.-T., Duong, H. T., & Barnett, B. (2017). Gendering Leadership in Vietnamese Media: A Role Congruity Study on News Content and Journalists’ Perception of Female and Male Leaders. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 95(3), 565–587. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699017714224
World Economic Forum. (2024). Global Gender Gap Report 2024 in World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2024/
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Justine Caryl Frondoza, Michelle Le Victorino, Maria Aniceta Aileen Bugarin

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The Diversitas Journal expresses that the articles are the sole responsibility of the Authors, who are familiar with Brazilian and international legislation.
Articles are peer-reviewed and care should be taken to warn of the possible incidence of plagiarism. However, plagiarism is an indisputable action by the authors.
The violation of copyright is a crime, provided for in article 184 of the Brazilian Penal Code: “Art. 184 Violating copyright and related rights: Penalty - detention, from 3 (three) months to 1 (one) year, or fine. § 1 If the violation consists of total or partial reproduction, for the purpose of direct or indirect profit, by any means or process, of intellectual work, interpretation, performance or phonogram, without the express authorization of the author, the performer, the producer , as the case may be, or whoever represents them: Penalty - imprisonment, from 2 (two) to 4 (four) years, and a fine. ”











