In line with the celebration of women’s month, the Department of Labor and Employment took another leap in its efforts on gender and development (GAD) mainstreaming and the elimination of violence against women.

DOLE recently launched its GAD Agenda 2024-2028: Framework Strategic Plan which lays out DOLE’s plans, target results and outcomes, and reference monitoring and evaluation framework to make DOLE programs, activities, and projects gender-responsive.

Further, the Department also launched its own chapter of Men Opposed to Violence Against Women Everywhere (MOVE), enjoining all men of the department to get involved in the prevention and elimination of all forms of harassment, violence, and discrimination against women and girls.

“We men will be active partners to end different types of discrimination, harassment, and violence in all places, whether it is in our homes, schools, in our offices, in factories, and in the our society,” Undersecretary Benjo Santos M. Benavidez said.

“It is the basic right of every citizen to be free from any form of abuse and violence in the world of work," he added, citing the newly ratified International Labor Organization Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment in the Workplace and the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women to which the Philippines is a state party,” Benavidez added.

In his speech, DOLE Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said the new initiatives are the Department’s contribution to the Marcos administration’s goal of a “Bagong Pilipinas” – a brand of governance that recognizes and prioritizes the rights, welfare, and condition of every Filipino, including women.

Laguesma also stressed the need to promote equality regardless of gender, as well as the importance of starting the elimination of violence and discrimination practices at the household level.

“It should not only be by signing the document and speaking that we participate in promoting the rights and welfare of women, it should also be like the oath we take, we should keep it in mind, take it to heart, and carry it out,” he said.

Organized by the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC), the introduction of the two crucial initiatives was witnessed by employees of the Central Office, bureaus, and attached agencies.

Male Senior Officials and employees of the Department also affixed their signatures on the MOVE board during the event to signify their commitment and support to efforts eradicating violence and discrimination against women.