2022 – Reports | SDG 5 – Gender Equality

Isabela State University has continuously shown support for integrating into the academic community the aims of Gender Equality as one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. This makes ISU more responsive to the call for making the education sector more gender-sensitive and supportive to the needs of every individual within and outside the institution. Concrete steps and measures have been implemented to increase gender awareness, be more proactive to problems concerning gender, and eventually reduce gender inequality.

As part of its commitment as a higher education institution, ISU caters to diverse learners who come from various places. Records show that over the years, there has been an increasing trend in ISU’s enrollment rate from senior high school to graduate level. Data reveal a whooping 40,342 enrollees during the first semester of SY 2022-2023. Of these enrollees, there were 5,941 or 54.33% women from the total population of students starting a degree. A great portion of the first-generation students starting a degree is also skewed toward the tail of female students, that is, 2,021 or 80.33% of the combined male and female students within this indicator. It can be inferred from these data that ISU lives up to the expectations of society to be a provider of equal educational opportunities for all.

Along with these significant figures are alternative routes to make education more accessible, especially to the socio-economically challenged, and eventually qualify them for employment. In 2022, a total of 399 individuals were assessed, and 362 were certified for Horticulture NC II, Agricultural Crops Production NC I, NC II, and NC III; 188 and 171, respectively, were females.

Moreover, enrolled students at ISU who participate in either co-curricular or extracurricular undertakings receive scholarship opportunities and incentives. Recipients of such in the recent year were female-dominated with 223 out of 368. This university-wide practice does not only show recognition for students’ active involvement but also ISU’s multi-directional and holistic orientation to education. This is an important indicator of students’ graduation rate, which is dominated by females.

ISU is true to its role as a fair and inclusive institution, as it observes gender-responsive admission of employees by posting job opportunities in the public domain, hiring applicants from marginalized sectors, and promoting the use of non-discriminatory and offensive language. National policies like RA 8187 and RA 11210 are also integrated into the institution’s operation. This mechanism toward gender inclusivity is also manifested in the non-discrimination policies of ISU for the members of the LGBTQIA+ community as indicated in the ISU Student Manual.

The ISU workforce is a community of diverse public servants. Its senior academic staff comprises 1,169 employees, 595 of whom are females and 574 are males. Out of the 55 full-fledged professors at the university, 33 are females and 22 are males. In terms of academic staff with designees, 149 are females and 145 are males. These figures are indicative of the institution’s efforts to diversify the workplace.

The general welfare of ISU’s stakeholders is not limited to professional and educational aspects, as it is also manifested in several activities such as the observance of the 18-day campaign to end VAWC, mentoring and peer support mechanisms, and seminars that inform them of the importance of health education.

ISU also extends its assistance to marginal farmers, landless individuals, and women’s organizations to assist them in establishing viable livelihoods. Extentionists provide technical assistance to target beneficiaries to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills before the commercialization of their products. Mungbean processing, for example, engages participants in a series of trainings on how to make pandesal, ice cream, wine, coffee, bibingka, and muffin using mungbean as the primary ingredient. This does not only financially enrich the community but also promote local and more affordable alternatives to costly commercial ingredients.

All of these initiatives speak volumes about ISU’s shared responsibility to actualize gender equality.