Feminists comment on our post re: discriminatory hiring

WE sought the comments of two leading feminists, lawyer Katrina Legarda and Inq uirer columnist Rina Jimenez-David, on our recent post deploring the discrimina tory ads in the Philippine newspapersâ Classified Ads sections (âAge and sex discrimination in hiring policies in RPâ). Katrina wrote: âI have been asking senators and congressmen (since 1986 ha) why it is they have not outlawed this kind of gender and age discrimination. Answe r? No one has filed a bill⦠OK ba? It's like divorce, and the difference betwe en adultery and concubinage⦠no one supports these issues when they get to the floor, then when victimized spouses come to see me, they ask why the law is so unfair against women⦠they look at me blankly when I ask them where they were when I was trying to fight for them on these issues. They didn't know daw. Wel l, ignorance of the law excuses no one. "I choose my battles. Men and women who have been discriminated against should get their acts together. Hay naku.â Rina posted her reaction in her âAt Largeâ column: âBecause he asked for my tho ughts on the issue, and in light of Tuesdayâs column on a proposed âMagna Carta of Women,â Iâm discussing in this space something that the Inquirerâs âman in Hollywood,â Ruben Nepales, recently wrote about in his blog. Whenever he gets t o read the copies of this paper that are shipped to him by friends in Manila, s aid Nepales, he canât help but notice âads that reflect the discriminatory poli cies of some human resources departments in Philippine companies.â These person nel notices, he said, ânot only showed age and sex bias but also discrimination based on height, looks and marital status.â If such ads appeared in US papers, âdiscrimination lawsuits would immediately be filed against these employers.â "He then cites examples of copy in employment ads that typically appear in loca l papers, not just the Inquirer: âFemale, single, not more than 28 yrs; at leas t 5â1â -- this was a line from an employment ad for a telemarketer. Why this em ployer would discriminate based on height, among other things, is beyond me. Af ter all, a telemarketer is defined as a salesperson who uses the telephone to s olicit prospective customers to buy products or services. Are the telephones ha nging way up in the ceiling or the walls of this telemarketing office? "âSingle, not more than 25 years old, must be computer literate, good lookingâ ¦â -- from an ad searching for a female private secretary. Enough said. "âSingle, femaleâ¦â -- a couple of requirements for a preschool teacher. "An ad announcing vacancies for electrical engineer and mechanical engineers an d a sales representative demands that applicants must be âmale, not more than 3 0 years oldâ¦â but for an internal auditor, the applicant not only has to be fe male, she must be âsingle, not more than 27 years old.â "Comments Nepales: âI am appalled. Hello, itâs the 21st century. Canât women ap ply as electrical and mechanical engineers and men aspire to be internal audito rs in this company in the Philippines? And why the age restrictions? They are d eplorable requirements to begin with -- but to set different age requirements f or male and female job applicants? "âDiscrimination against job applicants based on sex, age, marital status, heig ht and looks, among other qualifications, should stop. If there is no law yet a gainst this type of discrimination, Philippine lawmakers should immediately ena ct one.â * * * "Well, Iâve got news for you, Ruben. There already is a law, known as the Shaha ni Law, that prohibits gender-based discrimination in the âhiring, training and promotionâ of employees. Once the âMagna Carta of Womenâ is passed, even broad er sanctions against discrimination will be in place. But I donât know if these laws apply as well to discrimination based on age, height, looks or âpersonali ty.â "The trouble is that with no enforcement or oversight agency designated, nobody it seems bothers to enforce the Shahani Law or complain about its routine viol ation. Letâs hope the Magna Carta, which is quite specific about the oversight agency (the proposed Commission on Women) and an ombud agency (the Commission o n Human Rights), fares better.â