Barangay leaders\u27 perception towards women in politics

This study looks at the perception of barangay leaders towards women in politics. It aims to determine and compare how male and female barangay leaders perceive women politicians in their leadership, law making and project implementation abilities and the advantages and disadvantages of having women in politics. An exploratory-descriptive design was made utilizing in-depth interviews among 40 key informant. Twenty of the key informant are males and the other half are females which consist of six barangay captains and seventeen barangay councilors.Socio-demographic profile of the barangay leaders show common characteristics. They are of the same civil status and place of origin. Differences are seen in their educational attainment, age, number of children, and occupation.Findings show that the barangay leaders\u27 choice of women politicians are based on personal characteristics, place of origin, achievement, campaign promises, and physical capabilities of these politicians.Leadership, law making and project implementation abilities of women politicians are equated with certain characteristics. A good leader must have a good rapport with the people, must be firm in making decisions and must have a strong influence on the people. A good law maker must have knowledge in the field, high education and money to finance legislative activities. An effective project implementor must have a high budget, must be able to make frequent follow-ups and must have a high educational background.Advantages seen of having women in politics are based on achievement and personal characteristics of women politicians. Achievement of women politicians cited are associated with women\u27s tasks while the personal characteristics given are the usual female gender stereotype.The disadvantages perceived of women politicians were indecisiveness, lack of achievement and negative personal trait and less physical capability. Despite this disadvantages, barangay leaders still do not want women to stay out of politics.It is evident that men and women of society are still bound by prejudices and biases brought about by stereotypes attributed to women. Culture, indeed, has a great influence of people irregardless of the status of men and women in the society