Crystal clear glass ceiling

Last week, I attended an annual forum organized to celebrate National Women’s Month. Empowered women leaders from various sectors shared their stories about how they were able to navigate and achieve success in modern society—how they shattered the proverbial glass ceiling. While the speakers’ life journeys were indeed awe-inspiring and worthy of recognition, I could not help but notice a common element emerging through their stories.

That is, successful women tend to define and view their success and “empowerment” through the lenses of patriarchal ideology. They highlighted how they attained leadership positions traditionally occupied by men by embodying traits such as dominance, assertiveness, and competitiveness; traits that are more commonly associated with masculinity. In our male-centered culture, such traits are naturally valued more than conventionally feminine ones, such as empathy, compassion, and emotional maturity. This seems to imply that the only way for women to be valued in society is for them to exhibit masculine characteristics and attitudes.

This problem presented itself in the 2022 elections, where two women vying for top leadership positions in the government were constantly compared and pitted against each other. Former Vice President Leni Robredo, who ran for president, was disparaged despite her credentials and achievements in public service, all because she does not exemplify traditionally masculine traits. She was seen as “mahina” by the public due to her openly embracing her femininity and incorporating it into her service and branding (e.g., choosing pink, a color traditionally associated with women, as her flagship color). Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte was viewed as “astig” because she fit the patriarchal narrative of being physically strong and aggressive. They admired her “cool” idiosyncrasies of showing off her tattoos and riding her motorcycles, and even applauded her abrasive behavior when she publicly punched a sheriff in her hometown. Unsurprisingly, the public generally favored the latter despite the obvious inferiority of her accomplishments compared to the former.

Looking back, this overvaluation of masculine characteristics can be attributed to the cultural legacy of machismo in the Philippines. The “macho” culture that still prevails in the country is deeply rooted in our colonial history.

In precolonial times, women held more power and freedom in their communities; kinship was traced through both the male and female lines, and women had more freedom to choose their partners. Daughters and sons also had equal inheritance rights. Most importantly, women held significant power in the early days through their role as babaylans or spiritual leaders who bore the culture of earlier communities. However, the arrival of Spanish colonizers marked the onset of the enforcement of patriarchal gender orders that continue to play a significant role in shaping societal norms and gender dynamics today.

Radical feminism suggests that simply putting women into positions that men occupy will not lead to the transformative changes necessary for liberating women. This is particularly relevant in today’s society, where women have somewhat achieved representation in leadership positions as compared to the past. A 2021 survey by the London-based Grant Thornton revealed that 48 percent of senior management positions in Philippine companies were held by women. The Philippines took the top spot in the ranking of the percentage of women in senior management among the 29 surveyed countries.

These findings may be perceived as enough justification that women have nothing left to clamor for in terms of equal access to power and opportunities. However, a nuanced analysis of women in leadership positions reveals the underlying patriarchal ideals that shape such roles. Indeed, women are now allowed to be in a position of power that was traditionally held only by men, but subject to certain conditions. Women must adhere to traditionally masculine values and attitudes to ascend the career ladder and succeed in life. In essence, an “empowered” woman in today’s society is one who is “man-like.”

Consistent with the feminist assertion, simply putting women in leadership positions did not extinguish the deeply rooted patriarchal ideals associated with such roles. It did, however, force women to willingly or inadvertently internalize machismo culture and transform themselves to fit into the culture to achieve society’s approval. Metaphorically speaking, the glass ceiling wasn’t shattered—it was made to appear extra crystal clear that most of us actually believed it’s not there anymore.

Unless the public acknowledges the problem, this practice of overvaluing masculine characteristics will continue to persist, and the dream of achieving a truly gender-equitable society will remain just a dream.

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Kayla Seacor, 29, is currently navigating the betwixt and between of life.